Small businesses are the answer to our unemployment problems.
Those were the words of Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Savenaca Narube speaking after the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises workshop at the Tradewinds Raffles House in Lami, who said that our formal sector cannot absorb all our school leavers and this is the same in all developing countries.
Narube said the employment growth required for our future can come from the small business sector. He also stated that close to 60% of Fiji's labour force is involved in various forms of business that fall under the heading of Small and Micro Enterprises.
Narube believes a national survey needs to be done to get correct information about the number of small businesses which are in different sectors. He said data available is not refined.
Fiji Retailers Association president Himmat Lodia said this workshop could be very fruitful.
Narube also said these enterprises are also a way to combat poverty and can help us achieve our Millennium Development Goals. He added that these SME's are also a way to combat poverty by supplying the means to provide for basic needs such as education, food, shelter and clothing.
He added that as one third of our import bills is oil imports, it’s clear that our efforts in exploring alternative sources of fuel must be progressed. The governor suggests that we must invest in renewable energy and ethanol production in order to bring down Fiji's heavy dependence on imported oil and fuels in the future.
Small Businesses Are The Answer
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