More than 800 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises have benefited from subsidies provided by Business Assistance Fiji and its partners in the last two years.

BAF Chair Dr Nur Bano Ali states that following the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in SME ventures.

Ali mentions that BAF is providing assistance as SMEs have the potential to support the economy.

For the past two years BAF and its partner BLP have with the support of the government diagnosed 225 businesses, assisted more than 822 SMEs and subsidies valued at 437 thousand in the areas of financial management and account business planning and loan proposal, digital transformation, marketing and branding.

She adds that with more than 70 percent of businesses being SMEs, the numbers are expected to grow, and with continued support from the government, the sector will see more employment opportunities for Fijians.