Markets for Change Project Stakeholders in Samoa Discuss Phase II Design

[Press release]

(First row is from left to right) Barry Patterson, Deputy HC, DFAT; Jorn Sorensen, UNDP RR; Simona Marinescu, UN RC; Trevor Matheson, Z HC, MFAT NZ; Peseta Noumea Simi, CEO, MFAT Samoa; Afamasaga Faauiga Mulitalo, CEO MWCSD; Maria Melei, ADB.

Apia, Samoa – Partners of the Markets for Change project in Samoa, including Peseta Noumea Simi, the Chief Executive Officer of Samoa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and H.E. Dr Trevor Matheson, the New Zealand High Commissioner joined other stakeholder representatives for a Phase II design validation workshop earlier this month (5 March).

The validation workshop is one of the final steps of an ongoing consultation process towards the finalization of programme documentation that would strategically guide the implementation of Phase II of the M4C project. The project began in 2014. Phase II is expected to begin in July 2021 when Samoa will join the existing project countries – Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Peseta Noumea Simi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Samoa Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said marketplaces offered “important venues to effect women’s social and economic change and that this project will contribute to the broader economic empowerment result of secure, productive and sustainable work opportunities for women”.

“To attain this noble goal requires: putting in place accessible, inclusive and representative governance structures within marketplaces; actions that improve governance and social and economic security to enable gender-responsive decision-making processes; improved infrastructure and on-site services that are developed in a gender-responsive manner; and a facilitated dialogue with market owners/managers of the importance of gender-responsive considerations,” she said.

Markets for Change has been a UN Women flagship project on women’s economic empowerment in the Pacific. Phase I of the project was delivered in partnership with the Governments of Australia and Canada. The Government of New Zealand became a partner mid-2020, through the UN Pacific Strategy Fund under the New Zealand-UN Pacific Partnership. This funding will support the project’s implementation in Samoa. 

New Zealand High Commissioner to Samoa, H.E. Dr Trevor Matheson said the intended outcomes of the Markets for Change project aligned well with New Zealand’s Gender Action Plan 2021-2025.

“We support the goal of transformative change through advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment,” H.E. Matheson said. “New Zealand’s contribution of approximately US$1.13 million to the M4C Phase II reflects our commitment to support and develop safe and inclusive markets for women in urban and rural areas and we are proud to be part of this project. We believe this will create more economic opportunities which will allow women to contribute to the development of their families, communities as well as the economy as a whole.”

Sandra Bernklau, the Representative of the UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office (MCO) acknowledged the vital role of partnerships in the successful implementation of the Markets for Change project.

“This workshop is a stepping stone in the journey of the project and is an important one hence we have all our important stakeholders here today to continue to work with us towards advancing women’s economic empowerment in the Pacific,” Ms Bernklau said. “Supporting women’s economic empowerment in the informal economy through the Markets for Change project can contribute greatly to the strengthening of local economies.”

The Markets for Change (M4C) project brings together governments, market vendors and market vendor associations, civil society organisations and UN agencies to promote gender equality through economic empowerment of women market vendors in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. M4C is implemented by UN Women in partnership with UNDP and the Governments of Australia, Canada and New Zealand.