Managing Director – Total Fiji;
Management – Total Fiji;
Invited Guests;
Participants;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Bula vinaka and a very good evening to you all.
It is indeed a pleasure to be here today to celebrate the achievements of our young rewarding and innovative entrepreneurs who participated at the 2018-2019 Total Fiji Startupper of the Year Challenge. It’s equally exciting to see organisations such as Total providing our young Fijians the opportunity to realise their capabilities, in line with the Fijian Government’s aspirations to move to a knowledge based society.
So to the organisers of today’s event – Total Fiji, I commend you for your efforts in putting this together.
I was informed that the Startupper of the Year Challenge was held simultaneously in 55 other countries around the world and the first prize winner from each country will have their project presented to the international grand jury.
The first prize winner also walks away with $30,000, whilst second and third prize winners will get $20,000 and $15,000, respectively. All three winners will also receive support and coaching from Total Fiji and a communication campaign to publicise their projects.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To be innovative and entrepreneurial means to be willing to devote yourself fully in making your business ideas a reality. It means you have what it takes to critically think and come up with new ways to solve challenges. It can be as small as changing the way we order food, to something has big as contributing to reducing our environmental impacts. More than ever, Fiji needs young citizens, like you, to stand up and showcase your inherent creativity.
Your vision, enthusiasm, passion, flexibility, determination and resilience. More importantly a successful entrepreneur must be confident and should never, never retreat or ‘give up’ at the first sign of difficulty. One of the best aspects of organising such initiatives is that you allow Fijians from various backgrounds with different ideas and dreams to come together and network. Regardless of who wins, you instill courage and hope in our people who develop enough confidence to put together their business ideas.
I am also told that there were a lot of participants who got the chance to empower and encourage each other whilst nervously waiting for their turn to pitch their ideas to the panel. So to all the participants, a round of applause to you.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The world is constantly changing with new opportunities emerging and a true entrepreneur will make full use of them. You can be assured that the Fijian Government is there for you and will provide the support and guidance that you need.
The Young Entrepreneurship Scheme or YES is a testament of Government’s continued commitment towards the development of a talented and competitive young workforce. Now with the age limit increased to 40 years and the amendments to the eligibility criteria, more young Fijians have the opportunity to make their business dreams and ideas a reality.
According to the 2017 Census, half our population is below the age of 27 and a half years and 69 per cent of Fijians are below the age of 40 years. This simply means that we have a very young nation, which if given the right resources and support, can achieve great feats.
Therefore, we will need to harness those abilities, along with their inherent creativity, for the greater benefit of Fiji and the Fijian people.
To all the youth, Fiji has progressed leaps and bounds in the last 10 years, we have been recognised around the world for our sports achievement, our warm hospitality and our friendliness. Now, we have to be recognised as innovators, dreamers and doers.
We encourage you to develop, transform and implement projects that lead to employment creation, improvement of the livelihoods and overall welfare of Fijians. Become true entrepreneurs and bring forward new ideas and innovative solutions.
I am confident that you as youths of our nation, have the capacity to develop innovative solutions not only for business purposes but for the greater good of our society.
Remember, innovation does not only mean breakthrough technologies and cutting-edge scientific thinking, but it is about applying old ideas to today’s problems, or developing simple yet highly effective solutions for new applications.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our youth should not only be job seekers, but also job creators that provide their fellow Fijians with new and exciting opportunities.
I therefore challenge our young people to think outside the box and make Fiji a hub of innovation for the Pacific, and the world. We want you to be leaders in business, civil society and government, putting your ideas at the forefront of Fiji’s development, with your innovative spirit carrying our nation into the future.
With those words, congratulations to the winners of the Total Fiji Startupper of the Year Challenge and my best wishes in your efforts to become the most successful innovators and entrepreneurs.
Vinaka Vakalevu, Dhanyavaad, Thank You.