The Government wants to build a strong and resilient economy that is able to sustain external shocks while enabling the grassroots to have a sustainable livelihood and better standard of living.

This was reiterated by Industry and Trade Permanent Secretary Shaheen Ali during the Microfinance Awards organized by the Reserve Bank yesterday.

Ali says the government plays an important role in empowering local enterprises.

“Fijian Government has put in place initiatives that aim to support the MSME sector and this is embodied in our five year and twenty year national development plan, the plan sets the foundation of continued efforts to enhance the institutional settings, the access to finance which is always a challenge, the business incubation, training and access to critical markets for MSME’s.”

Meanwhile, a total of nineteen awards were given to entrepreneurs with aspiring missions.