Danielle NotoA Tropical Fellowship With The US Department of The Interior
June 2008 - My internship is going really well. It deals directly with SMEs – small and medium enterprises - in developing countries. I am working for the U.S Department of the Interior (DOI) which, among other things, deals with our U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States. These include the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, American Samoa, Micronesia, the Northern Marianas, Guam and Palau – some of the prettiest, and yet poorest, places in the world. I have been assigned to Palau – one of the smallest and youngest nations in the world, you may remember it as the location for the tenth season of “Survivor.”
I actually can't get over how cool this internship is. My role is clear and quantifiable. My responsibilities include running workshops on how to sign up for Island Business Link (www.Islandbusinesslink.com) and developing business ideas. Island Business Link is a new networking initiative of the DOI. As a promotion of private investment and entrepreneurship in these areas the DOI has been hosting a conference called "Business Opportunities in the Islands" for the last 5 or 6 years. Wildly successful, the conference has become very over-subscribed. To further the relationships and networks that grow out of the conference the DOI developed Island Business Link. This site is perfect for entrepreneurs and small businesses that can't afford to attend the annual conference and it also fosters relationships between targeted investment groups that are much dispersed.
As part of my role broadening awareness of Island Business Link, I have met with many of the more established businesspeople in the area and was even part of a press conference with the current President of Palau, Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr. He generously gave of his time and strongly supported the site. The press conference will run on T.V. and radio for the next week.
The site has been well received and people here have been very receptive to learning how to use the site and the Internet as a business tool. I have been very impressed with how many people actually have business plans or opportunities already and are just looking for the right investors. Palauans are very entrepreneurial by nature, it seems. The DOI recently completed the Compact Road which allows access to the largest island in Palau, Babeldaob. There are many families who own land along this road which can now be developed for tourism or agriculture – as the economy here is based on tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing.
This is a hard situation to beat. What I am doing is useful to people and is market based plus I am in a tropical paradise. In the back of my mind I am wondering if the concept of the Island Business Link can be exported to other areas of the world that are similarly isolated by water or long distances of inhospitable land or stretches of humanity that are undeveloped and need to connect with the right investors in a more progressive world.
