Entrepreneurship is much needed in not only Samoa, but the entire pacific.
That is what 26 year old Miss Samoa Priscilla Olano told Loop Samoa when asked about what the Pacific is in dire need of.
“We need young entrepreneurs, business people with a huge amount of success and in order to do that, we have to make sure we create jobs first,” said Olano.
“Education and employment go hand in hand. In order to make sure our kids are successful, they have to get good education. Their success is when they finally grow to be a self-reliant person and that’s what I believe Pacific needs” she added.
Ms. Olano works for the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Program in Vailima. She also attended the Rhema Bible training center in Apia, which is where her faith is inspired and empowered through.
Her aim is to develop programs, not just to encourage youth to become business owners, but to strive for success, and not only for those who can sit behind a desk, but any talent or craft a person is blessed with.
“When we empower them, I think we can help our country become much more efficient and produce more successful entrepreneurs,” she added.
The same goes for the region as a whole.
“After the pageant, whoever wins, us ladies who have come so close over the few days we’ve spent together have agreed to partner up in linking our islands and helping spread the messages were trying to put out there,” she said.
“So it doesn’t end if we haven’t been selected as the winner, we will still work together, and that’s the magic of this Miss Pacific, this connection should not end at just the competition, it needs to go on for the length of our reigns,” she said.
She says the dream of youth empowerment and employment growth will have to start from small programs, and then pushing hard for it to reach higher levels.
The hope is that by the end of her reign as Miss Samoa, a big difference will be made in her country’s growth.