VENDORS at the Suva Municipal Market will be able to expand from market stalls into larger ventures creating new opportunities for women vendors and their families.
This is after the establishment of the Suva Market Inspiring Women Cooperative, which aims to see women vendors expand beyond selling from their tables.
Cooperative president and founder Sofia Talei said after 17 years of selling produce at the market, she took a major step to leading a women’s cooperative that will soon operate a restaurant and bakery.
Groundbreaking for their new restaurant and bakery businesses took place early this month.
Ms Talei said the idea grew from her years of experience at the market and her desire to see women vendors expand beyond selling from their tables.
“I’m 41 years old and a mother of three with two teenage children and one still in school,” she said.
“I’ve been here at the market for 17 years. This year in September will be 17 years of selling here,” she said.
Ms Talei said she first started selling at the market with simple produce sent by her parents from their village.
“I started selling in the market with bags of coconuts sent by my parents from home,” she said.
“The main reason why I started selling in the market was to help support my husband.”
She said while her husband was working at the time, the market became an important source of income to help build their family’s future.
Today, she said, their hard work has paid off and her husband now works as a manager in auditing.
Ms Tale said her involvement in the cooperative movement began after learning about the concept through the United Nations Development Programme and empowerment initiatives such as the Save a Place programme.
“Since I grew up in the village, I thought cooperatives were only for villages to support village people.”
“But after it was introduced to us, I decided to give it a try here at the Suva Market and form a women’s cooperative.”
She said the cooperative brought together women vendors who had been empowered through savings programmes and were ready to take their businesses to the next level.
Ms Tale encouraged members to think beyond traditional market selling and to explore different business opportunities.
“One thing I always tell the women is don’t put your eggs in one basket,” she said.
She encouraged the women not to just focus on what they sell on their table because, when they diversify their business, that is when they become a successful businessperson in the future.
