MEET Marisa Pepa, a dedicated entrepreneur who does business by baking cakes for sale and doing catering for special occasions based on orders.
Pepa is one of the first cohorts to undergo training under the United States-funded Academy for Women Entrepreneurs Solomon Islands (AWESI).
The first cohort consists of 33 women who either own or lead businesses.
She is a 40-year-old former government officer, who is passionate about cakemaking and catering in general.
Pepa spoke of her small but expanding business venture to Solomon Star at the launching of the Academy of Women Entrepreneurship (AWE) in Honiara recently.
The program was virtually launched from the Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby by the US Ambassador to PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, Ann Marie Yastishock.
“My name is Marisa Pepa, I am a 40-year-old wife and a mother of two.
“My business is making cakes and currently, my business is home-based. I am a resigned government worker because I want to commit all my time to my business.
“I make birthday cakes, wedding cakes, muffins and all treats and sweets, which families usually order especially for big events like birthdays, wedding and other special occasions.”
Pepa started her business in 2015. She said it was small at the start but had expanded over the years.
She said, what inspired her to go into this business was her own experience of ordering suitable cakes for her first son’s birthday and other occasions.
“When I had my first child, I had trouble ordering cakes for his birthday and other family occasions and so I started baking cakes myself, doing experiments with new recipes.
“Then my friends and family members started to like my cakes. They told me that my cakes were tasty and recommended that I should start making cakes for sale. So that’s how I started making cakes and selling them.
“So, my inspiration came from my son. He was the reason I started baking cakes at the first place.
“When I started selling cakes to my family and friends, word spread around and one of my friends helped me to create a facebook page and that’s how I continue to get my orders,” Pepa said.
Pepa said she considered herself an entrepreneur when she first registered her business and opened a bank account.
She said what she wants to learn from the AWE training program is how to properly run her business.
“When I signed up for this program, I knew I would learn how to properly run a business. I knew l would also learn how to make business plans and this is something that I’ve never done before and I’m so excited.
“As a small business operator, I never had that opportunity to learn how to make a business platform – how to determine a business market and how I should look after my customers.” Pepa added.
Pepa said after completing this training program, she would like to properly setup her business, which she started as a home-based business, and get things moving in an orderly manner.
“With my attendance and completion of this program, I will graduate and be in a better position to expand my business with my newly learned knowledge and skills.”
By IAN LADDS OSO
Solomon Star, Honiara
