Women Leading and Influencing (WLI) alumna and Tonga Country Coordinator for the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Malieta Inoke has officially launched the country’s first eCommerce platform, The BeeHive.
Malieta believes the platform, developed in partnership with Digicel Tonga, will help to drive the growth and sustainability of the country’s micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector, which represents a growing number of women.
“The BeeHive platform will be a gateway for Tonga and the Pacific region to adopt technology and eCommerce - ensuring the region is abreast with global economic trends and to help drive the growth and sustainability of the MSME sector,” she explains.
As the digital market is large and growing, Malieta believes, “Women must be enabled to participate both as business owners and business consumers, and profit equally as men, therefore, it is critical for governments to invest in women innovators and entrepreneurs to build the nascent eCommerce space.” Reflecting on her participation in WLI's Women’s Developmental Leadership Program, Malieta believes that it gave her the space to uncover where her passion for financial inclusion and supporting MSMEs in Tonga came from.
Read more about Malieta’s participation in WLI while completing her Master of Professional Accounting at The Australian University, and how advancing women’s financial and economic independence will help to develop the Pacific region.
With the launch of The BeeHive, developed in partnership with Digicel Tonga, Malieta explains that Tongans can now trade goods and services with ease and security online.
“The BeeHive platform will be a gateway for Tonga and the Pacific region to adopt technology and eCommerce - ensuring the region is abreast with global economic trends and to help drive the growth and sustainability of the MSME sector,” she explains.
As the digital market is large and growing, Malieta believes that “women must be enabled to participate both as business owners and business consumers, and profit equally as men”.
Having grown up in Tonga and travelled to The Australian National University in Canberra to earn her Master’s Degree in Professional Accounting through the Australia Awards, she believes that “money in the hands of women is well spent” and benefits families, communities, and the economy.
“Therefore, it is critical for governments to invest in women innovators and entrepreneurs, to build the nascent eCommerce space,” Malieta explains.
While encouraging young women to follow their career paths and hone their crafts, whatever they may be, Malieta reflected that her participation in the WLI program was “instrumental on my professional and personal development”.
Passing lessons learned to students joining the panel discussion on women’s leadership and career diversity from architecture, finance and other typically male-dominated sectors, Malieta highlighted the importance of “having the right mentor” and “the right network to guide you through your journey”.
Discovering where her passion for financial inclusion came from was also an important part of Malieta’s leadership journey. WLI provided Malieta the space to realise that this stemmed from her upbringing and watching her parents work hard to create economic security.
“For a woman to be truly free, they ought to be financially independent!” Malieta reflects, “You can only grow once you are out of your comfort zone.”
But it’s not just the business and enterprise sphere that Malieta hopes to encourage and see more women involved in.
“Women need to get involved in politics; they must master their trait, whatever discipline it may be,” she says.
To the emerging women leaders in her sphere, Malieta implores, “Adjust and leverage the small networks to become influential beings in our society!”
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The BeeHive platform was developed with support from the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)'s Pacific Digital Economy Programme (PDEP). PDEP is jointly implemented by UNCDF, UNCTAD and UNDP, and is supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Learn more about the Women’s Developmental Leadership Program that Malieta took part in.
