THE Government will conduct a review of Medium, Small and Micro enterprises (MSME) grants across the different ministries and coordinate assistance to the sector through a centralised database as part of its policy measure to improve MSME access to finance.
The plan was set out in the National Development Plan 2025-2029 and Vision 2050 launched in Suva this week by Minister for Trade Manoa Kamikamica.
While recognising the ability of the MSME sector to lift economic growth and improve livelihoods of the population, Government noted the challenges that MSMEs in Fiji continued to face, among them the difficulties in accessing affordable and timely financing.
“Currently, the MSME Fiji Unit (within the Minister of Trade and MSME) administers five grant programs, namely the Integrated Human Resources Development Programme, National Export Strategy Programme, Northern Development Programme, Young Entrepreneurship Scheme and the Trade Enhancement Programme,” it stated.
“While there is a dedicated unit that administers grant programs for MSMEs in Fiji, there are other ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways and the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and National Disaster Management that provide financial assistance to MSMEs.”
While the Government in its 2024-2025 National Budget had announced a total allocation of $120million to support MSME development across all sectors of the economy, the Ministry of Trade’s dedicated MSME Fiji Unit administers a mere $3.6million of it in the form of grants disbursed through the five programs.
In opening the calls for application to the grants last month, Minister Kamikamica said the $120m has been distributed to sectoral ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways, Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Multi-Ethnic Affairs and the Sugar Industry with the aim to further boost MSMEs, whether it’s for developing local resource owners, inspiring passionate entrepreneurial spirit, or driving sustainable growth across all sectors.
For the Ministry of Trade, he said 60 per cent of its MSME grant last year went to women-owned businesses.
Statistics in the NDP showed that only 19 per cent of registered MSMEs list women as owners.
“This figure estimates over 5500 registered women-owned MSMEs, in addition to the 18,742 self-employed women and 4650 women working in handicrafts,” it stated.
