$13m reported missing from SPBD, General Manager terminated

By Lagi Keresoma/

Apia, SAMOA – 28 June 2024 – $13 million Tala is reportedly missing from the South Pacific Business Development (SPBD) micro lending institution and the General Manager has been terminated.

The General Manager was the first woman to hold the top post within the SPBD network and has been with the company for more than 15 years after serving at various institutions and regional organisations.

Sources told Talamua that SPBD Founder, Greg Casagrande was in Apia last week and met with staff before flying to Fiji to open a new SPBD branch and he is expected back in Samoa this week given the latest developments.

Sources also said that after the termination of the General Manager last week, the Finance Manager and other division key people also resigned.

SPBD commended for supporting women
SPBD is a micro-finance institution that has provided loans to develop small business for women and others at the grassroots level in the past 24 years and held annual events to recognise and celebrate the success stories.

Samoa was the first country SPBD was established and provided small loans to women for small business development.

According to its website, SPBD teams work in nearly every village in Samoa and have been financially sustainable since 2007. SPBD currently serves almost 20,000 families in Samoa, almost 60% of households.