50 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises have been given a boost as they have been provided with a tablet to support their businesses.
This was made possible after the Reserve Bank of Fiji and Vodafone Fiji came together to respond to the challenges faced by MSMEs in the country.
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Ariff Ali, says MSMEs are the backbone of many economies, contributing to sustaining livelihoods, generating jobs, and promoting growth.
He says it is important to ensure that relevant and timely policies and programmes are generated in order to develop MSMEs.
He says by embracing digital technology, there is immense potential to drive development and bring the country on par with other developed nations.
He says that driving digital transformation and MSME development have been two major forces pushing various initiatives for MSME development over the past five years.
The RBF signed its first agreement with Vodafone Fiji in August 2021, amid the COVID pandemic, to provide a 50 percent subsidy towards the Vitikart monthly subscription for more than 100 MSMEs, which aimed at encouraging MSMEs to trade online.
Vodafone Fiji’s Regional Chief Marketing Officer, Rajnesh Chand, says this initiative is a response to some MSMEs that continue to face challenges trading online and require assistance with digital tools to access and manage content on the e-commerce platform, such as Vitikart.
He says this initiative will empower MSMEs by giving them tools to interact on the Vitikart platform, where local businesses can promote their products and sell them online to both local and international customers.
A recipient of this subsidy, Fang Liu, says she has been running her business on the Vitikart platform for the past two years, and this has helped her save on rent expenses and ensured the early delivery of her products.
She says e-commerce will be very beneficial in the long run, both for customers and businesses, as it is more convenient, and with the rapid growth of technology, people find it easier to shop online than to drive to stores.
She says she will use the tablet she received to take pictures of her products and promote them on her online store.
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