LOANS to agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) make up 93 per cent of the Fiji Development Bank’s (FDB) loan portfolio.
This was revealed by FDB chief executive officer Saud Minam at yesterday’s launch of the 2024 National Small and Medium Enterprise Awards (NSMEA) at the FDB headquarters in Suva.
“93 per cent of our (loan) portfolio belongs to the three sectors. One is the agriculture, and then the SMEs, and within the SMEs you got the MSMEs. So, those three customers make 93 per cent of the total portfolio,” Mr Minam said.
“Which basically means, the remaining seven per cent belongs to some infrastructure, some resorts, some of the large commercial businesses, but the bulk of it, which is 93 per cent belongs to basically serving the mandate of the Fiji Development Bank.”
He said loan categories vary to suit their clients’ needs. “We have loans as low as $1,000 for our customers, which are women entrepreneurial loans, and as high as millions.”
Mr Minam said they have close to 10,000 accounts for these three portfolios.
He said currently FDB is waiting for the 2024-2025 National Budget announcement before announcing some new packages and plans for MSMEs, and SMEs.
“Our main focus this time around is going to be continuing with the MSMEs and SMEs, but we will come up with some very innovative products, especially for our agriculture segments.”
