The Youth in Business Challenge

The Youth in Business Challenge was initiated in 2010 by the Tonga Chamber of Commerce & Industry in partnership with the Secondary Schools Principals Association and the Ministry of Education. It is competition between secondary schools, where teams of form 5 to 7 imagine a product, write a business plan, and are granted seed capitals in order to start and run real businesses (the amount depending on the ranking of their business plans). It is modelled on the very successful Young Entrepreneurs Scheme from New Zealand.

The purpose of the Challenge is to develop a spirit of entrepreneurship and business knowledge among Tonga’s youth. It allows the students to add practical experience to school-based knowledge by learning how to start and run a business, be enterprising, develop a “can do” attitude and take and manage risks as well as acquire skills in budgeting, planning, interpersonal relations, decision making, reporting, communications and teamwork. During the program, the students also learn to test their own creativity and innovation and bring forth their own talents. Finally, this program also aims at providing these youth with the opportunity to learn how to make a sustainable livelihood, hence participating in reducing unemployment and alleviating hardship. 

All the youth involved gain precious knowledge and experience and develop an entrepreneurial spirit, which will in time give rise to generations of Tongans better prepared to face the challenges of successfully developing a business. The trip to New Zealand that constitutes the first prize for the winning team exposes these youth to the way business is done in New Zealand through meetings with successful companies and organizations involved in promoting trade across the region. Moreover, this trip allows the students to build up a network of people and institutions that are willing to help them develop their business in Tonga and in New Zealand.

The long term aim is for Tonga to become a participant in the New Zealand Young Entrepreneurs Scheme. To reach this goal, the Steering Committee is working with the Ministry of Education and NZAid on a strategy to incorporate Enterprise and Financial Education into the schools’ curriculum and to train the teachers involved in the Challenge. Thus, the Tongan students will benefit from the same educational standards as their age group in New Zealand and will be able to compete against the New Zealand teams. This will in turn increase the benefits described above and will create even stronger linkages between future entrepreneurs in Tonga and New Zealand through contacts made during the competition.

The Challenge is run by a Steering Committee composed of representatives from:

• Tonga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI):

o   Tsutom Nakao (Steering Committee Chairman)

o   ‘Aloma Johansson (TCCI President)

o   Suliana ‘Afu (TCCI Treasurer)

o   Dr. Cecile Quesada-Moaeteau (TCCI Program Officer)

• Secondary Schools Principals Association (SSPA)

o   Paula Fonua (SSPA President & Steering Committee Vice-Chairman)

o   Dr. ‘Ungatea Kata (SSPA Vice-President)

• Commerce Teachers Association (CTA)

o   Maketalena Fifita (CTA President)

• Ministry of Education, Women Affairs and Culture (MEWAC)

o   Tevita Veaila (MEWAC Chief Education Officer for Secondary Schools)

 It is run on a daily basis by TCCI’s Program Officer, Dr. Cecile Quesada-Moaeteau, who can be contacted on 25168 ext. 202 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for any enquiry.

• 22 June                        Deadline for business plans
• 29 June                        Oral Presentation of the business plans
• 06 July                         Seed Capital Awards Ceremony
• 14 October                   Oral Presentation of the businesses
• 18 October                   Final Awards Ceremony
• 28 Nov – 03 Dec         Winning team trip to Wellington, New Zealand

• Beulah College                         Daniel Jones (E.M. Jones Group)
• Liahona High School                Dion Palu (Palu Aviation)
• Queen Salote College              Rose Fangupo (Reef Cafe)
• Saint Andrew High School        Roland Leong (Total (Fiji) Ltd)
• Tailulu College                          Atalua Falekaono (Oceanic Communications Tonga)
• Tonga College ‘Atele                Edgar Cocker (Cocker Enterprises Ltd)
• Tonga High School                   Siena Taumoepeau (TMP Law)
• Tupou High School                   Soane Liutai (Sound Control UK2)

• Mr Paul Stafford                        CEO Digicel (TCCI nominee) - June
• Mr George Nakao                    CEO Fedex (TCCI nominee) - October   
• Mr Ross Chapman                  CEO Pacific Finance & Investments (TCCI nominee)
• Mr David Knapp                    Retired Senior Operations Manager & Vice President, Bank of America San Francisco (SSPA nominee)
• Ms 'Ofa Simiki                        Proprietor O.S.B. (CTA nominee)