In a bid to bring strong business skills from Australia to Fiji to help small business entrepreneurs, the THRIVE Program provides targeting training from the Australian Business Volunteers to show the fundamentals of running a small business from cost management, marketing, human resource, governance, and risk management.
Australian Business Volunteers CEO Liz Mackinly says after the training, entrepreneurs will have a clear business plan on how they will achieve their business goals, and their financial targets.
Mackinly says their volunteers help these entrepreneurs in business problem-solving and the challenges these small businesses face.
She says that 76 percent of those who took this program last year have seen a massive improvement in their business from the output perspective.
Saurara Mafi, the Director for Interior Designs and Beyond Talent Designs, told fijivillage News that the Australian Board of Volunteers gave her the confidence to collaborate and market with other business personnel.
She says it boosted her confidence level to market her products and to keep knocking on the doors of opportunities to inject that capital needed to boost her business.
Mafi says she has built her network with other businesses like Investment Fiji and the Ministry of Trade Co-operatives, SMEs and Communications.
She says she is indebted to Australian Board of Volunteers and BSP for providing the pathway for grants to these business owners.
