There is a need to establish standards in local businesses to ensure Fiji withstands overseas competition.

Acting Prime Minister and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum emphasized this during the launch of the Prime Minister’s International Business Awards at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva.

He says this is one of the main reasons why the government has allocated an enormous amount of resources to education and training in its budget.

“And those of you who are employers, please look at the opportunities in the budget. We provided a number of attractive tax incentives for you if you train people, what  tax incentives you can have, apprenticeship schemes, and fantastic tax deductions for that because we need to be able to invest in our people in upskilling them.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says if Fiji wants to go big on Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), then we need to ensure that BPO companies feel safe in Fiji and this is why we need to have alternatives.

The Prime Minister’s International Business Awards is a celebration of the resilience of entrepreneurs and businesses that have kept the nation afloat during the pandemic.

This year’s theme is “Recovery, Resilience, and Progress.”

Meanwhile, the PHAMA Plus Agribusiness Innovation Challenge was also introduced for the first time during the event.

Nominees for this challenge will need to demonstrate a future-oriented vision for the Agriculture and food sectors and their contribution toward food security, job creation, economic growth, and recovery.

This year, there will be 17 awards in 13 categories.