Shania Shayal Prasad 
[Source: International Trade Centre]
More needs to be done to unlock finance and improve the ease of doing business.
This was highlighted by Minister for Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Manoa Kamikamica during the Island Finance Forum this week.
Kamikamica says despite Fiji’s high liquidity in the system, the challenge remains accessing funds and to provide confidence to financial institutions.
“Our business environment must give the private sector and investors the confidence to invest and the freedom to be innovative. There needs to be a strong working relationship and trust between the private sector and the government. And this cannot happen in a heavily regulated environment.”
Kamikamica says they have partnered with the private sector and banks in developing products that assist and reduce the cost of accessing finance for businesses.
He says this has come in the form of guarantees, as well as paying for interest components on loans for MSMEs and wage subsidies.
Meanwhile, the government has invested over $102 million in MSMEs in the form of grants.
