18,900 MSMEs Supported by Govt
74TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
To date the Fijian Government has supported 18,900 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), of which 40 per cent are women entrepreneurs.
This was revealed by the Minister for Industry, Trade, Tourism, Lands and Mineral Resources Faiyaz Koya’s at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) opened its 74th session in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday. The meeting theme is “Inequality in Asia and the Pacific in the era of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.
The Fijian Government, he said over the past decade has made significant changes in the economic and socio-economic policies for the development of the rural and grassroot communities, empowering women and providing opportunities to the young and innovative minds.
Mr Koya said initiatives such as Micro and Small Business Grant provide the smallest of small businesses a leg-up.
“A minimum of $1,000 grant is provided for individuals to start their business or to further improve their existing business. “The Fijian Government is partnering with the Fiji Development Bank in this process.
“This links the businesses with commercial banks and also graduates them from informal to the formal sector.
“To date, we have supported over 18,900 MSMEs, of which 40 per cent are women entrepreneurs.” The programme, he said has a success rate of 80 per cent, which is high by international standard. Other small to meduim entreprises initiatives include, Government Guarantee for financing, agriculture grant, business skills training, to name a few.
Youth Empowerment
“We have a young population, approximately 50 per cent of the population is below the age of 27.5 years and 69 per cent is below the age of 40 years,” he said. “Therefore, the Young Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES) is to promote young entrepreneurs. “The scheme is to assist our educated and talented Fijians between the ages of 18 to 30 years with innovative and unique ideas. “The scheme is to give our youth the confidence that they can be job creators and not just job seekers. “We in turn want Fiji to progress its status as the hub of the Pacific and become the innovation hub.” Mr Koya said it showed consistent and pro-growth policies and initiatives, amongst other, have led Fiji to achieve unprecedented levels of economic growth.
“Fiji has maintained a decade of positive growth, with over four per cent growth in the last five years.
“Due to the inward focused policies, we have been able to survive external shocks and the impact of natural disasters.
“The per capita income has doubled from $6,400 in 2006 to over $12,000 in 2017, unemployment rate reached a 20-year low of four per cent, we have strong foreign reserves and debt to GDP is around 45.5 per cent, which is the lowest in 15 years. “Investments by domestic and foreign investors remain robust. “In addition, the IMF Article IV report that was released recently stated that “Fiji’s income inequality has declined in the last 15 years”, and six it is “attributed to improvements in the social safety net and in employment”.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is a crucial component to economic empowerment of Fijians.
Mr Koya said: “Fiji has invested in trade and investment enabling infrastructure, such as roads to access markets, improvement in port facilities to enhance our hub status, increased ICT connectivity in rural and isolated regions within the country.
“Today, capital expenditure makes up 40 per cent of the national budget as compared to 19 per cent in the period 2000-2006.” Mr Koya said the theme for the meeting this year has identified common issues for the Asia and Pacific region when working towards the goals of Agenda 2030.
“Reduction of inequality is a key pillar in the national development goals.
“The Fijian Constitution lays the foundation for inclusive growth, giving each and every Fijian sociogrowth rights.”
National Development Plan
He also highlighted Fiji’s fiveyear and 20-year National Development Plan sets the platform to continue to “transform Fiji” into a unified, prosperous, inclusive and progressive modern nation.
The Plan consists of two approaches, which are: (i)Inclusive Socio-economic Development –
which ensures that all socio-economic rights in the Constitution are realised.
Inclusivity is at the centre of growth and development, and the benefits of prosperity is spread as widely as possible to enhance social well-being of all Fijians. It ensures that no one should be left behind, regardless of geographical location, gender, ethnicity, physical and intellectual capability, and social and economic status.
(ii)Transformational Strategic Thrusts -
includes forwardlooking, sustainable and consistent policy shifts to expand our development frontier and support the vision of transforming Fiji.
New and emerging growth sectors will be nurtured, connectivity within and to the outside world will be enhanced, new technologies embraced, productivity maximised, human capital development will be accelerated and green growth will be a key guiding principle in the implementation of this Plan.