GREAT Coalition Targets 25,000 New Jobs in 4 Years

Officially opening the National Business Forum 2026 today in Honiara, Minister Kuma said jobs are the foundation for national peace and identity, especially for Solomon Islands’ rapidly growing young population.

“Every single year, tens of thousands of our young people exit primary, secondary and tertiary education looking for opportunity. To absorb them, economic growth is not optional – it is mandatory,” Minister Kuma told business leaders.

Minister Kuma said the Government is determined to improve the country’s investment climate, revealing that Solomon Islands still ranks low at 136 out of 190 countries on the Ease of Doing Business Index with a score of 55 out of 100.

He said the GREAT Coalition’s priority is to raise this ranking by reforming laws, streamlining processes, and removing bureaucratic roadblocks.

The Minister placed 10 key recommendations from last year’s inaugural Business Forum squarely before this year’s participants, including addressing high energy costs that are driving up the cost of doing business, the urgent need to protect and empower Indigenous entrepreneurs, encouraging small businesses in the massive informal sector to transition into the formal sector, strengthening the lending capacity of state-owned financial institutions, urging commercial banks to understand SMEs as unique customers, questioning digital financial cost structures including platforms like M-Selen, empowering youth, delivering targeted support for women entrepreneurs, deepening the three-way partnership between the business community, the Government and academic institutions such as SINU, and solidifying the National Business Forum as an annual or bi-annual event.

“My charge to this room is simple: Do not leave this forum with a list of complaints. Leave this forum with practical, executable solutions,” Minister Kuma challenged.

“The Ministry is listening. The GREAT Coalition and Government are ready. The solutions you design today will directly influence the policies and regulations we deploy moving forward.”

The National Business Forum was established under Cabinet approval on 9 July 2025 in partnership with the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI). Last year’s theme was “Partnership and Innovation for Resilience: Adapting to a Changing Economy”.

While the 2026 NBF has no specific theme, Minister Kuma said it continues the 2025 momentum, focusing on partnerships and solving the issues already raised.