Turning Crisis into Opportunity

I never got to finish my education because my family couldn’t afford it. That was my biggest problem.

At 38, Grace Florie Sese is a mother of five, a wife, and the co-founder of several growing businesses in Vanuatu. She runs a thriving joinery workshop and is preparing to launch a new venture producing concrete blocks with her husband. Once nervous about public speaking, she now confidently represents women in business and in her community.

But just a few years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the Pacific, everything felt uncertain. Her family’s construction company was still young, built from her husband’s passion for carpentry and her skills in finance. With no access to loans, they had started with pocket money and support from relatives.

As the pandemic tightened its grip, Grace worried they might have to shut down.

At that critical moment, Grace was selected by the Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry to join the Phoenix Program, an initiative funded through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Window of the United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) to help women entrepreneurs navigate the crisis.

For seven months, Grace immersed herself in training, from financial management to marketing and business planning. It was the first business education she had ever received.

Before the Phoenix Program, I didn’t really understand what I was doing. But once I went through the training, I knew how to advertise my business. I knew who my customers were. I understood how to manage money.

At the end of the program, she received a grant that transformed her family’s small construction activity into a fully operational joinery workshop — one that continues to grow today.

When the pandemic hit, many women in her community felt stuck, waiting, worried, unsure what would come next. Grace refused to wait: drawing on her new knowledge and confidence, she brought together a small group of women and began sharing what she had learned.

It was a time when everybody was down. I encouraged them not to just sit there and wait for something to come, but to stand up, try something, and take one step.

In a country like Vanuatu, where customary norms often position men as the primary leaders, women’s entrepreneurship is not always an easy path – but it can quietly challenge expectations.

In our culture, men are the ones leading. That is our biggest challenge. Sometimes women are scared. But if we change our mindset, we can move forward – because we women are unique. We are multitasking. We handle the home, the children, and the community. And we can lead.

For Grace, investing in women is about much more than income. It is about voice, visibility, and reshaping deeply entrenched beliefs. It is about showing that leadership already exists in women’s everyday lives, and making it visible in workshops and community spaces.

Grace Florie Sese in Port Vila, Vanuatu. (Photo: Nicky Kuautonga)