The disconnect between Fiji’s farmers and resort kitchens isn’t about culture but about how the market is built. Current supply chains are too risky and unpredictable for small growers. The answer lies in new business models that make local sourcing easier and fairer like cooperatives, resort-supported farms, and digital marketplaces that link supply and demand. By rethinking how value is shared, Fiji can build a food system where local farmers and tourism grow together.
Earned Impact proves impact and scalability through real world business model interventions before capital is introduced, reducing risk for entrepreneurs, donors, and investors.
Our Philosophy
Impact should be earned, before it is funded
Prove before you fund
We believe capital should follow evidence, not assumptions. Before investment is introduced, we work alongside founders to test real world business model interventions that demonstrate demand, operational viability, and impact. This shifts risk away from entrepreneurs and funders, and replaces speculative planning with observable traction.
Novel business models are the key
We believe the next wave of Pacific entrepreneurship will be unlocked through new ways of creating and capturing value, not by copying models built for other markets. Novel business models allow ventures to work within local constraints while accessing regional and global opportunity, enabling growth that is both commercially viable and contextually grounded.
Start With Strengths, Then Address Gaps
Rather than focusing only on deficit, we begin with capabilities, assets, relationships, and behaviours already present in the ecosystem. These become the foundation for growth. From there, we deliberately design around what is missing through targeted interventions and partnerships, creating ventures that are grounded, resilient, and locally owned.
Aligned Incentives, Shared Outcomes
We structure our work so we only succeed when startups succeed. Our returns are tied to ventures generating real revenue and impact, not activity or advisory hours. This aligns incentives across founders, partners, and funders, and keeps us focused on building businesses that work in the real economy.
We do not operate as an accelerator, incubator, or investment fund, and we do not require entrepreneurs to give up equity to participate. Our role is to strengthen ventures and reduce risk, so that when capital is introduced it is better targeted and more likely to lead to lasting impact.
How we work with Pacific Entrepreneurs
We work with entrepreneurs who already have momentum, identify the one change that will unlock growth, test that change without relying on new capital, and only then help ventures access the right investors or donors. This approach reduces risk, avoids wasted funding, and ensures impact is proven before it is scaled.
Understand where you are today
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We begin with entrepreneurs who are already doing something real. We look at what they have access to today: customers, capabilities, relationships, and early traction. We do not start with ideas, forecasts, or funding plans.
Our guiding question is what is already working, even if its in a small way?
Design a novel business model intervention
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Instead of trying to fix everything, we identify the single issue that is holding the venture back from growing or creating more impact. We design a specific change to the business model that can be tested using existing resources. The goal is not perfection, but learning. The change must be small enough to try without new funding, yet meaningful enough to matter.
Test this change in the real economy
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The novel business model concept is tested through real world activity, such as pilots, partnerships, pricing trials, or early market entry. Learning comes from action, allowing the model to be refined based on evidence. We run the experiment with the entrepreneur, and contribute resources to test out the novel concept.
Attracting growth capital
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When something works, we help the venture double down on it. This may mean refining the model, securing partners, or formalising new ways of operating. Only once the new model is proven do we help the venture prepare for seed or Series A investment. The focus is on matching the venture to the right type of capital, at the right time, using real evidence.
News, articles & Insights
Learn more about the approach and how you can apply it in your business
Rethinking the Recipe: How New Business Models Could Finally Connect Fiji’s Farmers and Resorts
Welcoming Orisi Samoce to the Centre for Earned Impact
We are excited to welcome Orisi Samoce as the newest Venture Associate at the Centre for Earned Impact, based in Fiji.
Orisi has brought deep insight into the entrepreneurial landscape across Fiji and the Pacific. He is not only a thinker, but a builder. What he has already created with Fijian Host is a strong signal of what is possible when local knowledge and execution come together.
With Orisi joining the team, the Centre for Earned Impact now has a permanent presence in the Pacific. He will play a key role in identifying and evaluating new ventures, working closely with our portfolio companies, and building partnerships across the region.
This is not a shift away from Fijian Host. We are continuing to actively support and invest in its growth, and see it as a critical part of what we are building in the Pacific.
Welcome aboard, Orisi.
How Pacific Entrepreneurs Build Businesses in Small Markets
Citation: Hunter, Shawn, Deshpande, Sameer, Bevacqua, Ron, Liew, Jeff, and Morgan, Peter, 2024, Enhancing the Ecosystem for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Pacific, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University (Brisbane),
Entrepreneurship in the Pacific is largely driven by micro and small enterprises which operate mostly informally and focus on livelihood rather than scalable growth. Barriers such as limited access to finance, small markets and skill gaps restrict expansion, though digital tools and mobile payments are opening new possibilities. This creates both constraint and opportunity, with strong potential for locally grounded, resilient business models when supported with the right training and financing mechanisms.
The Centre For Earned Impact invests in Fijian Host.
We met founder Orisi Samoce and were immediately struck by the clarity of vision and depth of commitment to building something meaningful from within Fijian communities. We believe community based tourism represents a significant and underdeveloped global opportunity, not just in Fiji but across emerging travel markets seeking authenticity and connection. Through our work with Fijian Host, we are supporting the redesign of the business model to think globally from day one and unlock pathways for rapid, scalable growth. This is a compelling investment for the Centre for Earned Impact. It combines a strong founding team with a clear market pull and, with the right structural refinements, the potential to become a scalable, differentiated platform that is uniquely positioned within Fiji and highly transferable beyond it.
Rethinking how we mentor entreprenuers & approach market development
Citation: Influenced by the work of Professor Saras Sarasvathy on Effectual Thinking in Entreprenuership
It’s never been easier to access models, theories, tips and tools to help you become an entrepreneur. You’ll find toolkits that teach you the basics, podcasts that hype you up, and online courses which show you every step from zero to launch. And if you’re struggling to build something in an environment that’s not entrepreneur-friendly, there are often grants, incentives, or subsidies willing to fill the gap.
However, these resources don’t reflect how 65% of the world’s most successful businesses actually got started.
Why Locally Grounded Business Models Hold the Key to Resilient Indo-Pacific Economies
A growing body of research shows that the future of innovation in the Indo Pacific will be shaped less by imported market models and more by the cultural and institutional contexts of each place. The latest study in the Asia Pacific Business Review argues that economic resilience comes from business models built around local values, community legitimacy, and collaboration with government, rather than solely from technology or finance.