Peceli Naviticoko 
The establishment of a National Small and Medium Enterprise Committee will enable the implementation of a framework for MSMEs contribution to the economy through resilience and continued growth.
The Higher Education Commission of Fiji says it is working closely with the Ministry of Trade, Cooperatives, and SMEs for the establishment of this committee.
HECF Director Dr. Rohit Kishore says the committee will assist in developing a policy framework and adaptation plan to assist SMEs against disasters caused by climate change.
“So we have the national policy, which will come out of the ministry, and underneath that we’ll have a steering committee. A steering committee will then work with the stakeholders and the government ministries and other ministries as well in formulating a small to medium enterprise adaptation plan, and those will be the adopters.”
In response, permanent secretary for trade Shaheen Ali says this is part of the action plan on how to mitigate the impact of climate change on smaller businesses.
“This committee will be in charge of sort of implementing these action plans and various strategies that have been outlined as eight thematic areas that we need to focus on policy areas that we need to focus on, and we need again this collaborative approach. Including private sector and public sector NGOs and all their participation.
Ali says the sooner the committee is established, the better it will be for MSMEs.
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