Honourable Members of Parliament;
Chairperson of Women Entrepreneurs & Business Council, Mrs. Eseta Nadakuitavuki;
Director of International Labour Organization Office for Pacific Island Countries of Pacific Ocean, Mr. Matin Karimli;
President of the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation, Mr. Vinay Nand;
Chief Executive Officer of Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation, Mr. Kameli Batiweti and Executives of FCEF;
Chairperson of the Women Invigorating the Nation Convention, Ms. Sharyne Fong and the WIN Convention committee;
Members of WEBC – all the beautiful women present tonight;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen.
Miau Sa Bula Re and Good evening to you all. Kindly allow me to comment on how beautiful you all look tonight in your Silver, Blue or Starry night attire and that I am indeed honoured and humbled to be invited again to be part of this celebration at our second (2nd) Women Invigorating the Nation Convention.
I wish to congratulate the WEBC on reaching our 10th year Anniversary and to commend you for the positive and influential impacts that you have made in the lives of women entrepreneurs in Fiji and the Fijian economy, in both the informal and formal sectors of business.
I also wish to congratulate the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation Board and Executives on their recent launching of their new logo and for having the foresight in establishing a council that focusses on developing and supporting Women Entrepreneurs and Women Business Leaders in Fiji.
It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the presence of the founders of WEBC, vinaka vakalevu for setting this up in 2013, and a special recognition to WEBC’s Chairperson, Ms. Eseta Nadakuitavuki who has been an instrumental member of the Council since its inception.
WEBC has indeed come a long way since 2013 with less than 20 members to now close to 200 members or even more. It initially relied on the FCEF secretariat when it began, now WEBC has its own Secretariat that supports and coordinates all activities for its members. Well done and Congratulations!
Ladies and gentlemen, when going over the convention brief, I could not help but to note with great interest WEBC’s strategic plan for the period 2022 to 2027 with their four strategic pillars (the 4 P’s) of: People – Effective Business Leadership for the holistic development of Women Entrepreneurs; Process – Sustainable Business Processes inculcating best practices. Many congratulations on launching your Green Policy under this Pillar; Partners – Stakeholder Collaboration in advocating for members; Purse – Sensible Financial Management.
The Convention programme offered a wide-ranging mix of topics and speakers that greatly complemented the theme of “Sustainable Solutions for Success”. I am sure that you have all had a fruitful two days of learning and networking which is no doubt much needed value-added to your respective businesses and careers.
Ladies and gentlemen, the outcomes from last year’s Convention have been included in WEBC’s strategic plan and for this year too, it will help shape WEBC’s future activities, programmes, and where applicable national policies to help invigorate the nation. No doubt, this WIN Convention would not have been possible without the support of sponsors, partners and donors and I thank you all for believing in the cause of women in business and more so for your trust in WEBC and the Convention Committee to get this convention off the ground.
The successful implementation of all four pillars would not be possible without the support of WEBC’s funding partners such as: the Women’s Fund Fiji; the British High Commission; the US Embassy – Suva; the French Embassy; the Asia Foundation; the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat and GIZ Pacific. For any movement focussed on a purpose to be successful, it needs members to support and drive the objectives to the hilt. The members of WEBC have been an integral component to the success of the Council, and without them there would be no purpose to the work being carried out. As members you should be proud to be associated with WEBC.
This second WIN Convention is a clear indication for us all and for me personally of the commitment of the Committee to ensure that this annual event continues to thrive and become a permanent fixture in our events calendar. On that note, I must congratulate the Committee for organising this second Convention. My message to all women during the celebration of International women’s Day on March 8th and my message today is still to call on all women to champion inclusivity and drive positive change.
I am very excited for what the future holds for women entrepreneurs in this country especially with WEBC leading the way in supporting women across all sectors from the informal to micro and corporate level women leaders.
In conclusion, I commend and congratulate all delegates for investing in your personal development and for being part of this second WIN Convention. I have every faith that it will certainly grow in the years to come.
To the speakers, thank you, for sharing your wisdom, experiences and knowledge with the delegates today and I must thank the moderators as well for ensuring the flow of discussions and that panel discussions were on point.
With those few words, I congratulate WEBC for your 10th Anniversary, a successful second WIN Convention and the favourable response at registration for this year’s Convention.
I thank the WIN Convention Committee for this opportunity to be tonight’s Guest of Honour.
I wish you all the very best for the rest of this year. May God bless us all and May God bless Fiji!
Vinaka vakalevu and thank you.