Riya Mala 
Many businesses are missing out on opportunities due to a lack of understanding of border requirements, leading to delays, compliance issues, and barriers to international trade.
MSME Council Chair Watisoni Nata highlighted this concern while presenting the council’s submission to the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs on the Fiji Development Bank’s 2022 and 2023 Annual Reports.
Nata says many new businesses struggle to navigate different countries’ border regulations, particularly in identifying which products meet specific import requirements.
“Depending on the country and the border requirements, there’s a lot more awareness that needs to be done in that sense. Investment Fiji has said that they’re going to look into training in this regard, so we’ll see what current work the FDB is focusing on in this area and what the statistics are for businesses that are supporting exports and are also customers of the FDB.”
Standing Committee Member Premila Kumar highlights that many aspiring business owners are eager to start but lack the required knowledge.
“Go to MSME at the Ministry of Trade and understand better. There is a lot of monitoring and hand-holding that will guide that person. I do understand that getting into a business can be challenging — you can dream the best dream, but when it comes to making it a reality, it’s not easy because there can be many hurdles along the way.”
Nata says that accessing overseas markets is made easier with the internet, but businesses still need more training and information.
He adds that Fiji’s small businesses have the potential for growth but require major assistance from relevant stakeholders.
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