There is no short cut, most of the successful businesses you see today did not get any government help in the initial years.

Reserve Bank Governor Sada Reddy made the comment while officially opening the Fiji Indigenous Business Council meeting this morning at Novotel Hotel in Suva with the theme "Fijian Business on the Edge".

Reddy stressed to the members that some of the successful Fiji businesses started from very humble beginnings and grew with enormous discipline in managing money, sacrifice and hard work.

Reddy said one of the things he has noticed in relation to a number of failed indigenous businesses is the lack of financial discipline, lack of budgeting and anticipating and managing business and personal risks.

Reddy stated that there are no shortcuts to success or separate rules for different ethnic groups, and given that government will have to tighten its own belt would mean that there will be little of any support that the Government can give to businesses in the short to medium term.

Reddy told the members that reliance on preferential access is now a thing of the past, and they must learn to stand on their own two feet.

He called on the council to ensure that indigenous businesses are aware of the initiatives that the Reserve Bank is working on to promote small and micro enterprise development so that they benefit from them.