OPINION: Our Youths Are Ready to Lead. We Must Clear the Path

Across the Solomon Islands, a new generation is not waiting for change—they are building it.

From Honiara to the most remote provinces, young entrepreneurs are launching businesses that drive innovation, create jobs, and define our nation's future.

Organisations like the Young Entrepreneurs Council Solomon Islands (YECSI) are harnessing this energy, helping turn bold ideas into real, thriving ventures. These youth-led enterprises are solving local problems with tech solutions and building sustainable businesses from our unique local products.

But while our youth are stepping up, the system is letting them down.

We are actively holding them back with barriers they cannot overcome alone. A recent World Bank report confirms what every young entrepreneur already knows: access to finance is the single greatest obstacle.

Forty per cent of all formal businesses cite this as a major challenge. For young people, who lack the collateral banks demand, this barrier is nearly impossible to scale. We force them to abandon their ambitions before they even begin.

Furthermore, we deny them the basic tools of modern business. How can our youth compete in a digital world when unreliable electricity plagues 65% of firms? How can they run an online business with weak, expensive internet connectivity?

As if that weren't enough, we crush their initiative with a complex regulatory environment. We demand that small startups navigate intricate tax rules and pay rates designed for massive corporations.

This hostile environment stifles growth and discourages formal registration. The result is predictable: about 80% of our workforce outside subsistence agriculture is trapped in the informal sector, cut off from the protections and growth opportunities that formality provides.

This must change. The opportunity cost is too high.

The Solomon Islands’ e-commerce market is growing rapidly, with projections showing massive increases in revenue.

This digital economy is the single greatest opportunity for our youth.

The rise of Business-to-Consumer (B2C) sales allows them to sell everything—from artisan crafts to fresh produce—directly to customers at home and overseas.

We see the potential. The Ministry of Commerce’s E-Commerce Unit is already doing vital work, equipping entrepreneurs with the digital skills to compete online.

This training empowers young business owners to make data-driven decisions and scale their ventures.

This work directly supports the National Development Strategy (NDS). But to truly achieve a prosperous and inclusive economy, these efforts must be scaled up—urgently.

The World Bank rightly recommends focusing on small firm growth, as these businesses are the true engine of job creation. This is not just a recommendation; it is a national imperative.

We call for a collaborative, wantok system approach to tear down these barriers. Policymakers, the private sector, and financial institutions must unite to build an ecosystem where our youth can succeed.

This is our call to action:

Deliver Startup Tax Relief: Immediately introduce tax incentives for new businesses to help them survive their critical early years.

Fix Access to Finance: Streamline business registration and demand the creation of affordable, accessible credit products specifically for young entrepreneurs.

Build the Infrastructure for Success: Aggressively expand digital literacy programs, invest in reliable internet, and fund business incubation hubs focused on e-commerce.

The youth of the Solomon Islands are not just our future; they are our present. They are ready to lead today.

Empowering them with fair policies, financial access, and the right digital skills is not just an option. It is the only path forward to a stronger, self-reliant, and prosperous Solomon Islands.