Inclusion is not simply about having a seat at the table. It is about making sure people have the opportunity, resources and pathways to build something of their own.
That is one of the ideas we took with us from the 2026 Blue Finance Forum at APEC Haus, including the official launch of the Sustainable Pacific Blue Circle Fund.
For Coco Loco Wellness, inclusion is not something we want to talk about once a year.
We want to build it into the way we operate.
And that means moving from good intentions to measurable action.
What inclusion means to us
For us, inclusion means creating practical pathways for women, young people, local producers and small businesses to participate in the value we create.
That can mean employment.
It can mean a first business opportunity.
It can mean access to a market.
It can mean mentorship.
It can mean learning a new skill.
It can mean becoming a supplier.
It can mean gaining the confidence and experience to build something independently.
As Coco Loco Wellness and our sister brand, Coco Loco Seafoods, grow under SR Curio, we want to be intentional about creating those pathways.
Our inclusion commitments
We are setting the following commitments as part of our growth journey.
👩🏽💼 1. Women at the centre of our business
We will work towards at least 50% women’s participation across our employees, contractors and business opportunities, where the roles and opportunities are appropriate and available.
We will also actively seek women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs as potential suppliers, partners and service providers.
Our goal is not simply to count women.
It is to create opportunities for women to earn, learn, lead and own.
Caption: Sofia Ramoi, Director, SR Curio and Emma Oliver of WWF
🎓 2. Create opportunities for young people
We will establish a Coco Loco Youth Opportunity pathway, providing practical work experience, internships, project opportunities or mentoring for young Papua New Guineans as the business grows.
Our initial target is to create at least 10 youth opportunities each year across Coco Loco Wellness, Coco Loco Seafoods and SR Curio, subject to business capacity.
These opportunities could include:
- Digital marketing
- Social media
- Sales
- Customer experience
- Product development
- Events
- Logistics
- Creative work
- Entrepreneurship
- Administration
A first opportunity can change the direction of someone's career.
🛍️ 3. Grow local procurement
We will work towards at least 50% of our addressable procurement spend being directed to Papua New Guinean businesses, where suitable products and services are available locally and meet our quality, safety and commercial requirements.
We will actively look for opportunities to work with:
- Women-owned businesses
- Youth-led businesses
- MSMEs
- Local producers
- Local creatives
- Community enterprises
The principle is simple:
When our brands grow, we want other local businesses to grow alongside us.
🌱 4. Build local value into our products
We will continue identifying opportunities to incorporate locally sourced ingredients, products, services, stories and creative talent into our brands.
For Coco Loco Wellness, that means exploring how local knowledge, ingredients and creativity can contribute to products and experiences.
For Coco Loco Seafoods, it means looking at how more value can be created around our marine resources and connected to local communities — from the waters of Yule Island to your table.
🤝 5. Mentorship and knowledge sharing
We will commit time each year to mentoring women and young entrepreneurs, sharing practical knowledge around branding, customer experience, marketing, business development and building consumer-facing businesses.
Our target is to provide at least 20 mentoring or learning engagements each year, through workshops, talks, mentoring sessions or business conversations.
Because sometimes inclusion begins with someone sharing what they have learned.
📊 6. Measure what we do
We will track our progress.
Each year, we will aim to report publicly on key inclusion indicators, including:
- Percentage of women participating across our workforce and business opportunities
- Number of youth opportunities created
- Number of women-led and youth-led businesses engaged
- Local procurement percentage
- Number of mentoring and learning opportunities delivered
- Number of local suppliers and producers engaged
What gets measured can be improved.
We want our commitments to evolve as our businesses grow.
Why this matters
At the Blue Finance Forum, Ambassador H.E. Erika Hasznos wore a beautiful blue bilum from Vanimo, West Sepik Province.
That moment resonated with us because it represented a connection between culture, community, enterprise and development.
Ambassador Hasznos travelled to Vanimo last year and visited sites connected to the EU-STREIT PNG programme, including seeing the significance of the Rawo–Laitré Road completion.
A bilum can carry the story of a community.
A road can connect a community to a market.
A business can connect a producer to a customer.
Finance can connect an entrepreneur to capital.
And an opportunity can connect a young person to a future they may not have imagined for themselves.
Inclusion is about building those connections.
Our role as a business
We know that a small business cannot solve every structural challenge facing Papua New Guinea.
But businesses can make choices.
We can choose who we hire.
Who we buy from.
Who we partner with.
Who we mentor.
Who we give a first opportunity to.
And how we share the value we create.
Through SR Curio, our purpose is:
Create authentic human brands and experiences that scale social impact.
Coco Loco Wellness and Coco Loco Seafoods are part of that journey.
Our ambition is to build commercially sustainable brands while creating practical opportunities for people to participate in the economy.
Inclusion is something we build
For us, inclusion is not a hashtag.
It is not simply a statement.
It is something we should be able to see in our numbers, our partnerships and our value chains.
So we are committing to:
- 50% women’s participation
- 10 youth opportunities each year
- 50% local addressable procurement
- 20 mentoring and learning engagements each year
- Annual measurement and reporting
These are starting commitments — not an endpoint.
As Coco Loco Wellness, Coco Loco Seafoods and SR Curio grow, we will review them, strengthen them and raise our ambition where we can.
Because the future we want to see is not something we simply talk about.
It is something we build — with intention, with accountability and together.
🌱 Build businesses.
🌊 Create value from our local resources.
👩🏽💼 Open pathways for women.
🎓 Create opportunities for young people.
🤝 Connect local businesses to markets.
🇵🇬 Keep more value connected to our communities.
Coco Loco Wellness
Coco Loco Seafoods
SR Curio
Building brands. Creating opportunities. Connecting people to possibility.