Everything is Better with Chocolate. It Starts with Cocoa.

Meet Joana Kuki, Solomon Islands

Joana is a 56-year-old mother of five from Okea, a rural community on the outskirts of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. A hardworking and determined woman, she has long supported her family through daily vegetable farming and work on their small family cocoa plot.

For many years, Joana worked tirelessly to meet her household’s basic needs, but her efforts

remained small in scale due to limited financial resources and little access to formal financial

knowledge or services.

Her turning point came in 2016, when she joined SPBD Microfinance. Through SPBD’s financial training, Joana gained the skills and confidence to better manage her income and plan for growth. With her first loan, she invested in essential farming inputs, including quality seeds, basic tools, fertilizer, and simple irrigation materials. These

improvements increased her production and made her market sales more consistent.

Encouraged by her progress, Joana continued to reinvest through subsequent loan cycles,

expanding her family’s cocoa farm with better equipment and supplies to improve productivity and yields. Over time, what was once a small subsistence activity grew into a reliable income-generating enterprise.

Today, in 2026, Joana is on her 10th loan cycle of SBD, supporting a

thriving vegetable and cocoa farming business. Her earnings now provide steady income to

support her household, pay for her children’s education, and strengthen her family’s long-term financial security.

Reflecting on her journey, Joana says with pride, “SPBD gave me knowledge, confidence, and the chance to grow my family’s farm into a business.”