Business hardship

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Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum with representatives from the Fiji Institute of Accountants, Fiji Revenue and Customs Service, Women in Business and Fiji Chamber of Commerce at the Ministry of Economy in Suva. Picture: JONACANI LALAKOBAU

Businesses are facing the hardship of trying to plan in an uncertain environment as the coronavirus pandemic provides no certainty.

According to Fiji Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Dr Nur Bano Ali they didn’t know what the future held for them.

“That is why businesses are taking decisions by the month — they can’t plan for the year,” she said.

This is where some of them are falling over and according to her the concessional loans provided by the government for small, micro and medium enterprises would cushion the cost they would incur.

“Suppose somebody wants to change their business to something else because the traditional one wasn’t working for example their supply to tourism wasn’t working.”

She said this incentive would help businesses diversify into other areas.

The supply chain has also affected business according to Dr Ali as everything was slowing down.

With businesses being affected a lot of workers are also being laid off and speaking as the president of Women in Business she said women were often the ones who faced this.

“What happens women generally in organisations don’t hold very big jobs, that’s what Women in Business is promoting, we want women to achieve higher roles.

“But generally the reality on the ground is they don’t hold very high jobs so the fact is when business has to decide to cross cut, when they lay off staff and lot of women form part of that.”

She said WIB was excited to support the government in reviewing applications for its concessional loans for MSMEs as they were aware there were a lot of women who would be applying for these grants.

“Women also traditionally do not have collateral that the bank requires,” she said.

According to her these women when asked for a tangible asset are not able to provide for it and have to look at other avenues.

“So the Reserve Bank of Fiji initiative which is a credit guarantee scheme which again Women In Business worked with the governor and the whole team to increase the guarantee for women.

“Because they need it they need that more than others in the sense that they have traditional collateral that the bank requires.”

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