Audrey Jean-Baptiste
ygap Pacific Islands Regional Director
From New Caledonia, Audrey is passionate about creating the right conditions for entrepreneurs across the Pacific Islands to reach their full potential. Her work focuses on building innovative, sustainable, scalable and just solutions to society’s big problems. Audrey has supported over 200 early-stage ventures across Australasia and co-founded Malaika made (now Humanisms), a social enterprise that aims to provide dignified, safe and living wage work for marginalised communities. Audrey is yher's Regional Director for the Pacific Islands and heads ygap.co, ygap's consulting arm.
Donna Marie Wate
Marie’s Private Clinic
Marie’s Private Clinic provides quality and affordable basic healthcare for low income earners in the Solomon Islands, and have a specific focus on women and children.
Fanny Fiteli
Mama’s Mushrooms
Mama’s Mushrooms specialises in the production of high end, healthy produce such as microgreens and mushrooms. They train single mothers in the highly technical process of indoor farming and then help them establish their own small scale farm before linking them to big markets.
Glennis Kuper
MiTutor
For 6000 school dropouts in the Solomon islands each year, there are only 400 jobs available. MiTutor is a preventative model that supports high school students who are at risk of dropping out by giving them work experience and training.
Grace Hilly
Lady Grace Network
Lady Grace Network provides training to unemployed women and connects them to employment opportunities.
Kaitlin Tait
Director of YHER & Global Acceleration Team
Kaitlin is a Co-Founder of ygap, Program Director for yher and manages the Global Acceleration Team. Her nine years of international development experience began with her leading a school for street-children in a Tanzanian slum and managing an HIV orphanage in a Kenyan village, before launching and growing the ygap model across Africa and the Asia Pacific. She has accelerated hundreds of impact entrepreneurs and overseen programs that have changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people living in poverty. Having led and contributed to various female entrepreneurship initiatives, she is extremely passionate about supporting and championing the next generation of female entrepreneurs and leaders.
Madeira Gatu Manepuhi
Crez Home Based Care
Crez Home Based Care provides quality, affordable home-based nursing services and palliative care to urban and rural communities in the Solomon Islands.
Marlene Delis
Sarklok
Sarklok produces and provides affordable sanitation products (slabs, seat raisers, sanitary pads, soap, hand washing basin) for low income earners. They have a specific focus on improving the health and hygiene of women and girls.
Nakita Irvin
Tasty Island Treats
Tasty Island Treats is Fiji's only artisanal fresh fruit ice pop maker. Using locally sourced ingredients, each pop is handcrafted, vegan, gluten-free, with no additives or artificial colours. They're collaborating with women in developing a "business incubator” to facilitate access to a commercial kitchen.
Ruth Maetala
Dignity Pasifik
Dignity Pasifik empowers young mothers in the Solomons Islands by providing them with personal and professional training, direct and indirect employment, assistance in obtaining high school certifications and advocating for policy changes.
Seutatia Vai’i
Purpose Plantations
Purpose Plantations is a Samoan diversified farm addressing sustainable commercial farming in a green economy, all whilst providing skills development and employment opportunities for families. Its vision is to provide all Samoans access to a variety of locally grown, nutritious food.
Talei Goater
yher Pacific Islands Program Manager
With ancestral roots planted in Fiji, Talei has spent two decades managing multifaceted creative projects across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Her immersion in the region’s social enterprise ecosystem began twelve years ago when she established a community-led textiles label and then managed the first Pacific Islands presence at Australia’s Fairtrade Fortnight. Certified friend-maker, expert in tangled curls and yher's Pacific Islands Program Manager.
Thelma Ninjipa Kavanamur
Imbonggu Baskets
Imbonggu Baskets provides a safe and economical way for local weavers to earn an income at home by providing them with product design guidance and market access.
