SPBD Tonga 22

On the islands of Tonga, entrepreneurship is not a choice, but a necessity. Melie knows this better than anyone. With a microloan from SPBD Tonga, he and his wife Lisa expanded their farming business, creating not only income for their family but also jobs for their community.

funding gap emerging markets
SPBD Tonga
Company
Tonga
Country

The project

Melie and his wife Lisa have worked on their farmland in Tonga for years. What started small has grown into a thriving family business where they cultivate pineapples, melons, taro, and kava. That growth did not come easily.

Tonga lies in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in the Polynesian part of Oceania. The island nation is home to around 104,000 people, but for many families, a stable income is far from guaranteed. One in five people lives below the poverty line. Formal jobs are scarce, and access to financing is limited due to the remote location of the islands.

SPBD Tonga provides entrepreneurs with access to financing. The microfinance institution offers small loans to small business owners, with a particular focus on women. Active on four islands, SPBD Tonga now reaches more than half of all households in Tonga.

Lisa was also able to access this financing. With the loan, they purchased additional land and hired employees to further expand their business. “With the loan, we bought an extra piece of land and hired workers. That really helped us move forward,” says Melie.

Your investment enables entrepreneurs like Melie and Lisa to access the financing they need to move forward.

Want to learn more about how entrepreneurs in Tonga live and work? Sailor Lynn visited these entrepreneurs during her journey. Read her travel story here.


Your Investment

  • Annual interest rate: 7%
  • With an investment of €1,000, the expected total repayment is €1,088
  • Maturity: 24 months, with repayments including interest every 6 months
  • Currency: Euro
     

SPBD Tonga

CEO
Fine Tu’ipulotu
Founded
2010-12-13
Location
Nuku’alofa
Sector
Financial services
Turnover
€1,469,079
Employees
38
€150,000raised
Fully funded in 20 minutes on 22 May 2026.
397investors
€150,000
target
7.0
%
Interest
24
months
Maturity
6
months
Repayments
A
B
C
D
E
Credit score
Group loans
Female entrepreneurs
Euro

Impact

86
Lives improved

Tonga's female entrepreneurs often struggle to access financing, business support, and opportunities for growth. SPBD Tonga directly addresses these challenges by providing microloans exclusively to women, enabling them to start and expand their businesses.

Since its founding, SPBD Tonga has disbursed thousands of loans, totaling millions in funding for female-led enterprises. Women meet weekly to make repayments, receive business training, and build their savings—helping them achieve long-term financial stability.


Related blog posts

  • Read the introduction of SPBD Group as a new investment opportunity here.
  • Want to learn more about how financial inclusion can thrive entrepreneurship? Read here.
  • Check out this blog post to gain insight into poverty and the struggles faced by those unable to access essential resources for a basic standard of living.