H.E MAJOR-GENERAL (RET’D) JIOJI KONUSI KONROTE'S KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE FDB’S 2019 NATIONAL SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE AWARDS

· Mr Saiyad Hussain - The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Fiji Development Bank;
· Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Business Owners and nominees for the Fiji Development Bank’s (FDB) 2019 National SME Awards;
· Fiji Development Bank Board of Directors, Management and Staff;
· Your Excellencies, High Commissioners John Feakes - Australian High Commissioner and Jonathan Curr -New Zealand High Commissioner;
· Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
· Permanent Secretaries – Mr. Craig Strong and Mr. Pene Baleinabuli;
· Esteemed Judges;
· Sponsors and Partners of FDB’s 2019 National SME Awards;
· Distinguished Guests;
· Members of the Media;
· Fellow Fijians watching from the comfort of your homes or mobile devices live on Fiji One and Fiji Television Live Stream platform;

Ni sa bula vinaka, Namaste, Asalaam Alaykum, Ni Hao noa’ia ‘e mauri and a very good evening to you all.
 
My wife and I are delighted and honoured to be amongst you all again tonight, for the third consecutive year, to celebrate the success and achievements of the Members of Fiji’s Small and Medium Enterprises.
 
It has become an event that, personally, I look forward to, so you and I can appropriately acknowledge, but more importantly, congratulate, reward and honour the innovative, ambition, dedication and overall commitment and aspiration of our SME entrepreneurs to excel and succeed in their respective business ventures.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, we now live in an era where you and I are required and expected to take urgent remedial actions to bring forth sustainable development for the sake of our beloved Nation and humanity as a whole.
 
Fiji’s presidency of COP23 three years ago sent strong messages to the world – that still echoes today- calling for immediate bold and transformative steps, which are urgently needed to shift and transform the world onto a sustainable and resilient path.
 
Surely, such an approach would lead us to the realisation of the fundamental principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is to ensure that: “no one will be left behind” and to “strive to reach new heights” in our endeavours. In view of this, ladies and gentlemen, I have been reliably informed that Five factors are identified as key to understanding this fundamental principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and these are: Discrimination; Place of Residence; Socio-Economic Status; Governance; and Vulnerability to Shocks.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, when I consider the merits and significance of the Fiji Development Bank’s National SME Awards on our beloved Nation’s socio-economic progress and development, I can detect and begin to understand the realities of these five factors. Let me begin by drawing our attention to the factor of: “vulnerability shocks”.
 
Tonight, we will hear a success story of an entrepreneur who through sheer hardwork and determination, triumphed over this Factor.
 
A poultry farmer nominee who has displayed exemplary risk consciousness to manage vulnerability to natural disasters is Salim Buksh of Organic Valley in Sarava, Ba.
 
Buksh had lost it all to the ravages of Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016. It took him three years to rebuild from ground zero to recover and be re-established as our country’s biggest broiler contract shed today.
 
The shed is Fiji’s only contract grower facility equipped with a tunnel ventilation system. In addition, Mr. Buksh has invested in insuring the shed to allow the business to bounce back quickly and prosper.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, my key message and plea to all SME entrepreneurs tonight is to be aware and ready to proactively manage your vulnerability to shocks at all times. This is truly what risk mitigation in business is all about.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, as we all know that the biggest risk facing many SME entrepreneurs today is the ability to source finance to begin a business venture.
 
We know that most business founders have either invested their life savings or taken out significant loans in order to get the business off the ground. Cash flow is often the biggest concern at the beginning of each business venture.
 
One must consider where money will come from to maintain operations, pay the bills, bank roll employees and invest in growth. If there is a shift in the economy due to natural disasters, SMEs’ finances are very vulnerable and at risk the most when compared to corporate businesses.
 
Business creativity can then become the most viable and inherent option that SME entrepreneurs could rely on for business survival. It is at events such as this where we are privileged to hear success stories of the likes of a passionate conservator who applied integrated farming techniques to manage 100 acres of forest in South Taveuni to enable his business to remain economically viable and prosper.
 
I learnt that Mr. Naresh Kumar of Green Lodge and Nabogiono Farm has been doing this for the past 35 years with little money. He managed risks posed by possible shocks in energy price hikes and fluctuations in the supply chain by sourcing energy through solar power. Today, his entire property is operated through solar power bringing much needed cost savings……… and positively contribute towards our national effort in reducing Fiji’s carbon footprint and our global action on Climate Change.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, I have also been told that present here tonight amongst us is one entrepreneur who struggled financially to even meet basic operational costs due to an unfortunate event.
 
Leisani Saumaisue of Vines Travels Financial Enterprise overcame her cash flow challenges by re-building a customer base that helped her clear her debts within three months. There is an area where SME Entrepreneurs tend to forego or overlook, – investing in marketing. From a Strategic Risk perspective, one key aspect that must be taken into consideration is the need for SME entrepreneurs to manage their brand, increase visibility, maintain competitive advantage; to name a few positive factors which I believe could boost production and profitability.
 
It is however, more common to see SME entrepreneurs prioritizing investments over marketing, I have been told. This may be a result of limited resources or not realizing the risks associated with an unknown brand.
 
Tonight, we will hear another success story of one of the nominees that will surely encourage other SME entrepreneurs to think outside the box. Not only did this SME entrepreneur enter a new market, it could be argued that the business created a new market instead. Hot Glass Fiji, owned by Fijian citizens Alice and Alex Hill who moved to Fiji from the UK, has been the driving force behind the establishment of Fiji’s highest profile threedimensional art exhibition, now commonly known as; ‘Born from Fire’.

The exhibition offers more than a marketing platform. It is work in progress in an overall attempt to make it an international exhibition venture to display Fijian made three-dimensional art.
 
Apart from traditional and online market presence as a souvenir manufacturer, Hot Glass Fiji has been able to position its brand as Fiji’s first hand blown glass business and resourceful manufacturing process to the wider creative tourism market both locally and internationally.
 
I strongly implore all SME entrepreneurs who are here and those watching from the comforts of your homes tonight to prioritise marketing and learn from the experiences of these hard working SME entrepreneurs, Alice and Alex Hill.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, I am also told that there is a vibrant group of SME entrepreneurs on a Viber group called Social Media Entrepreneurs Community who are known to help each other out in website designing, profiling SME business amongst other things. May I suggest that as an SME entrepreneur you should consider getting yourself onto this group?
 
Ladies and gentlemen, in managing strategic risks, it could mean that some risks mitigated today are not going to be translated into immediate results. Such was the case for a tourism conservation venture 28 years ago.
 
The Garden Island of Fiji was threatened by logging in the 1990’s. The risk was mitigated through the formation of a community owned and operated conservation and eco-tourism venture. Owned by the Mataqali Naituku of Korovou village in Bouma, Tavoro Forest Park was set aside to protect the rainforest from excessive and unregulated logging.
 
Today, the world-renowned Tavoro Waterfalls community venture has been instrumental in meeting various costs for the owning community, including setting aside hard earned funds as investments for their childrens’ Tertiary education, employment opportunities for women and youths at the venture, and provision of housing assistance.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, FDB’s National SME Awards is unique and fulfils the overarching goal of promoting best practices in business operations. Through awards such as the Risk Conscious SME of the Year, the National SME awards have become an advocacy platform.
 
After being a part of FDB’s National SME Awards for the third year now, it is such a pleasure and I am equally proud to say that the platform is now, not only a glamorous occasion for the recognition of hardwork and commitment and the prize money, it goes beyond that but more importantly, because it helps to create and raise awareness around good business practices and strategies.
 
I am so thankful for FDB and its hardworking staff for highlighting some of the personal struggles of these entrepreneurs and how they could inspire their peers in managing risks and reducing their vulnerability to shocks.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, Fiji is determined to meet its obligations within the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda in truly leaving no one behind in our business endeavours for our Small and Medium Enterprise Entrepreneurs to succeed and prosper.
 
FDB’s National SME Awards is a major stepping-stone in that journey by helping in addressing vulnerabilities of our SME sector. To the Award nominees,congratulations once again for your most commendable achievements. For the rest of the 400 applicants; Thank you and well done for your hard work too. You are also national champions! To the 11 Fiji Development Bank 2019 National SME Award winners, our heartiest congratulations for withstanding, but more importantly, successfully overcoming your ‘vulnerability to shock’ and tonight we honour you.
 
I would also like to commend and thank the award sponsors and partners for their continuing commitment in being part of this advocacy to nurture innovative and sustainable SME Entrepreneurs.
 
Thank you, Vinaka vakalevu, Fai’eksia, Dhanyavaad, and May Almighty God bless you all and our beloved Fiji.
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