Location: USP Japan ICT Multipurpose Theatre.
Representatives from Senior Management of the University of the South Pacific,
Invited Guests,
Students,
Entrepreneurs,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Bula Vinaka and a very good afternoon to you all.
It is indeed a pleasure to be here today.
I am encouraged and hopeful to see all of you here today, among our entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. You may not realise but you have the power to change the dynamics of our entrepreneurial sector given the evolution of technological advancements and the “New Norm” we must adapt too.
Over the past few years the Government have invested $90m in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through our various targeted programmes, as MSMEs are the engine of growth for our economy.
I commend USP for hosting this Entrepreneurial Fair with the theme “Change your World: Become an Entrepreneur”. This is timely, as the Fijian Government is striving to encourage our citizens to become job creators not job seekers. Not everyone will become a doctor, lawyer or accountant. There is nothing stopping you from starting your own business.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This pandemic has taught us that we cannot rely on the Tourism Sector alone and we must diversify our economic base, we must adapt to the new normal. Entreprenuership literally means doing business and a critical component of our growth and job creation.
The Government has a number of programmes to help you become self-sufficient entrepreneurs. Many of these programmes are run through my Ministry. In addition to this we also provide business advisory services and business savvy training. We have also opened up a dedicated MSME Helpline, 9986014, to become more accessible to our MSMEs.
To improve business acumen, accelerate growth to create jobs and tap into new markets, the Ministry, through the MSME Fiji and Co-operatives teams, offers business training. Through these trainings, in the past year, we have helped more than 2,000 businesses in understanding their costs, pricing, business planning and forecasts, post disaster recovery.
Therefore, our programmes are not incomplete, these start with training, funding and then continued handholding – through trainings and where possible mentoring. This gives Fijians the holistic understanding on how to do business and ensure you are able to executive strategies to further grow your business successfully.
It is a positive and remarkable achievement as the Ministry endeavours to continue providing as many business savvy training as possible. In fact, the Ministry’s training officers are conducting a 5-day business training right now in the Western division. This will be followed by a training in the Northern division next week.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are providing these practical training to strengthen understanding of the MSME business model, build healthy business habits and of course, instill good governance mechanisms. More often than usual, the impacts of these trainings are not realised immediately – but the impact remains.
I encourage you to sign up for these business trainings because you can never stop learning. My team from the Ministry are here so please reach out and sign up.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Amidst the pandemic, one thing is for sure – it is our youth who will face the impacts in the near future. What this means is, they need to be at the forefront and leading the charge in recovery and this is something the Fijian Government is acutely aware of.
One of the youth-centric programmes led by my Ministry is the Young Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES). The YES programme targets the development of young Fijians, like most of you here today, who have innovative business ideas but find it difficult to secure seed funding from financial institutions.
We want to encourage youth to identify gaps in the market and come up with unique solutions. Whether you are creating a product, a service or even a new process, we are here to ensure that your ideas can evolve into bankable projects.
The success of the YES programme is largely attributed to the public-private partnership approach. Our YES Selection Panel is made up of 12 private sector members from a cross section of backgrounds. We have bankers, we have business people, we have academics – all so that we can provide the best guidance and mentorship to our youth.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Last month, I joined a young aspiring entrepreneur – Mr Rakin Wahed, who was one of the YES recipients. In a span of just a few months, Mr Wahed launched an app. Now what’s special here is, through this app – he has essentially contributed to two priority areas of the Fijian Government. That is, to transform Fiji into the modern hub for health and medical care and provided solutions for Fijians to adapt to the digital age.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
More than ever before, the Fijian Government is ensuring our MSMEs are ready for business when we open our borders. We are working to create an enabling environment where MSMEs and the wider businesses community can thrive. In fact, the Fijian Government continues to simplify business procedures and other essential reforms, especially for MSMEs to start doing business with two simple steps –
i) Registering business name with Registrar of Companies; and
ii) Registering business tax identification number with Fiji Revenue and Customs Services.
With these two simple registration, business entrepreneurs can start operating their business and will have 6 months to apply for the statutory requirements. However for those in the high-risk category, businesses are required to apply for statutory requirements before operating their businesses.
In a nutshell, the Fijian Government strives to encourage inclusive and sustainable development of MSMEs and youth. The growth of MSME is not only essential to job creation, but also to income generation, rural development, poverty alleviation and empowerment of youth and women.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As I am sure you are all aware, Budget Submissions are now open and I encourage you to make your contribution. We want to hear from you because your voice matters. And – we want to create an environment where youth are part of the decision-making process.
Thank you and Vinaka Vakalevu.