Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism Faiyaz Koya has handed over $1,000 grants to 539 recipients in Lautoka.
These grants were given to encourage more people to become more involved in the Small and Micro Enterprise sector.
Apart from the first round of disbursement for the Lautoka recipients, 69 recipients also received grant assistance for cyclone rehabilitation purposes, with the aim to build up their businesses that were either partly or fully damaged after the cyclone.
Since its inception in 2015, the Government has distributed a total of $17.3 million to 17,970 recipients around the country.
Koya says the Micro and Small Business Grant scheme also serves as a platform for registering informal micro and small operators into the formal sector adding this will assist Government policy makers in formulating policies that will ensure growth in the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises sector.
