A new Small Micro Enterprise division has been launched by Aliz Pacific- a chartered accounts and business advisory firm in Suva.

Head of MSME in Aliz Pacific says they hope to encourage more business entrepreneurs to register their business in the formal sector as they fear many are still not registered and are in the informal sector.

Moshin Khan says the new division will offer a wide range of SME services at an affordable price to encourage small businesses to register, be compliant with the regulations and at the same time grow the market.

“We note that some small businesses don’t register their business for fear of being taxed and because they feel it’s a costly exercise to become tax and regulatory compliant. Hence we’re offering a targeted approach by providing services to them for compliance to help them realize their growth potential and make them to serious contributors of the economy.”

Khan says one of the major challenges faced by the MSMEs is the access to finance, so the division will assist entrepreneurs to access finance with the help of commercial banks, Fiji Development Bank and through the Reserve Bank of Fiji initiatives.

The RBF estimates that the MSME sector accounts for around 12 to 13 percent of economic activity in the country.

Therefore this sector remains largely untapped.