Brands and Design Event for Small Business in Pacific Islands

March 14, 2019

A brands and design event for medium and small enterprises (MSMEs) took place in Apia, Samoa, on November 21 to 23, 2018.

The event was funded by WIPO’s Australia Funds-in-Trust for intellectual property (Australia FIT/IP). It helped creative businesses from Samoa, including from Savaii, to participate in sub-regional exchanges on best practices. Thanks to this experience, the firms involved are more likely to use the IP system and they will also benefit from contacts at the sub-regional level.

fitip_aus_philippines_news_14032019 — Speaker of the Brands and Design Event for Small Business in Pacific Islands. (Photo: WIPO)

More on the event

Government officials, MSMEs, academic institutions and representatives of indigenous people and creative communities from Samoa (Apia) and Savaii, the Cook Islands, Fiji and Tuvalu attended the event.

The main topic was how to create, protect and use brands and design by small businesses, including from the creative industries. It was also an opportunity to raise awareness of importance of bridging the gap between MSMEs and academic institutions in the region in order to promote the transfer of knowledge with potential economic value.