Had a call from an Australian “merchant solution” provider today. (One of my Australian web development clients wanted a merchant account for processing online payments)
While I had him on the line I explained the Vanuatu situation to him – which is admittedly not great for the merchants because the local banks hold them to ransom with high fees.
So we discussed the options for setting up a system here in Vanuatu in competition with the local banks, because it’s so easy to undercut their high fees.
Understand, there are HEAPS of business opportunities in Vanuatu.
The government encourages entrepreneurs to come and set up businesses here, so they make it relatively easy to do so.
Admittedly they have their own agenda – the government want jobs for the people, and they want local people to be trained with skills that will improve the workforce. This means that the more local people you will employ, the more favourably they look on your application to start a business.
Now it’s obvious that any new venture carries risk, but why reinvent the wheel? You can dramatically lower the risk by looking about in your country to find a successful business that does not yet exist in Vanuatu… work out the model… and then set up a similar one here!
Just another possible part of your Plan B, about which I will write more tomorrow.
Lance in (opportunity) Vanuatu
