Provincial Administrator – Nadroga/Navosa;
Senior Government Officials; 
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen 

Cola Vina, Namaste and a very Good Morning to you all.

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am glad to be here in the Rugby Town this morning to yet again celebrate and at the same time witnessing the fulfillment of the Fijian Government’s promise through the disbursement of the Micro and Small Business grant to the successful recipients here in Sigatoka.

It is the vision of the Fijian Government to ignite entrepreneurial spirit in Fijians. The 5-Year and 20-Year National Development Plan (NDP) sets the overall vision of “Promoting entrepreneurial culture through sustainable micro, small and medium enterprises”. 

The growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is essential for job creation, income generation, rural development, poverty alleviation and empowerment of youth and women. Therefore, policy interventions have focused on improving the institutional setting, access to finance, business incubation and training and connecting MSMEs to markets.

The Micro and Small Business Grant (MSBG) is an initiative that enables Fijians to be get access to funds to start or grow their business. The MSBG has entered its 35th phase of implementation since its inception in 2014.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am moved by the total number of applications received from Sigatoka and near by areas which totals to 3,871. This figure shows the level of interest in the province of Nadroga and Navosa to start a business and I personal commend the effort made. 
In this regard, this morning I will be distributing grants to 1,213 out of the 3,871 applicants here in Sigatoka. The applications received go through a rigorous assessment process, which include, both desktop and field assessments. The recipients, today, have proven to have the ability and the knowhow to undertake business and positively contribute to Fiji’s MSME sector.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The number of applications received this year has reached another high compared to the last financial year. We recorded a total number of 47,045 applications received from 14 centers, which includes Sigatoka. 

This figure provides an indication to the Fijian Government on the level of interest from the ordinary Fijians in taking up business, as a source of income and improvement of their livelihoods. Not only that, the result of the implementation of this programme, speaks for itself with a record of 81 per cent successful rate. 

And with that, I am delighted to announce that the Fijian Government will continue to implement this program under the 2018/2019 financial year with a budget of $6.4 million, and as set out in the NDP. However, the MSBG is not the only initiative for micro and small businesses that the Ministry implements.
To date, through the MSBG programme, 22,145 micro and small entrepreneurs have been assisted, impacting the lives of 110,725 Fijians, with Government’s investment of $21.4 million. 

Furthermore, initiatives such as the Roadside stalls, which was recently launched by the Hon. Prime Minister, provides vendors along the highway in the areas outside of municipalities, standardised stalls to sell their produce. This project will not only improve the standards, presentation and hygiene of their produce, but also assist to gradually mainstream these vendors into the formal sector. 

These initiatives are to simply give recognition to micro and small entrepreneurs’ contribution to the Fijian economy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Yesterday, I launched two projects in the Central Division, namely in Silana Village in Tailevu and Koronivia, which were in the eco-tourism and agriculture sectors. The projects were supported by the Integrated Human Resources Development Programme (IHRDP). 

Over the years, the IHRDP has successfully implemented over 28 Projects in the Central Division and has improved the livelihoods of approximately 560 people. They have been able to earn over a quarter million dollars, and actively contributed to the economy. 

In addition, the National Export Strategy (NES) over the past 12 years has assisted 104 projects, out of which 76 percent have been small and medium enterprises. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The MSBG is a unique initiative as the Ministry has partnered with the Fiji Development Bank. I am also happy to state that business development support services will be provided by both the Ministry and Fiji Development Bank to ensure that businesses assisted today, will be sustainable in the near future.

These business development support services are provided through mentoring service, business trainings and financial advice to name a few. In addition, to the business development support services, the Ministry will be conducting monitoring exercise to gauge the impact of the assistance and also to identify areas of concerns that will need extra support both financially and operational wise.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I strongly encourage recipients who will be receiving their grants today, to make the most of the little investment the government has placed in your respective businesses and ensure that you work on reaching greater heights. Qi vauqesi kemutou me muju cakacaka vakaikai. Me muju kua ni vawelewele.

Ladies and Gentlemen

With those few words, I wish you all the very best in your business ventures.

Vinaka Vakalevu and Thank you.