Women business owners who take a loan from the Fiji Development Bank now have a chance to insure their businesses with Tower Insurance after the signing of an agreement between the two financial institutions today.
FDB CEO, Saud Minam says the uniqueness of this product is that for as low as $8 a month, women can have insurance cover for their businesses.
Minam says they have already received 2,000 applications on their website out of which 585 have been approved for a value of $1.4 million.
He says only about 16 percent of their customer base were females so they launched a product in August last year called Women Entrepreneurs' Loan and as of 23rd of February, they have approved loans for about 550 customers worth about $1.5 million.
He says their focus is towards agriculture, MSMEs and SMEs and 94 percent of their customer base belongs to these three segments which is important for them to continue to grow in this segment.
Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Sashi Kiran says FDB is adding value to its product offering through the partnership with Tower Insurance to offer Tower’s cyclone response cover insurance to their customers under the FDB loan for women entrepreneurs.
She says customers can now safeguard their businesses against damages caused by cyclone.
Head of Pacific Digital Distribution Veilawa Rereiwasaliwa says Tower Insurance has been in Fiji since 1880 and is currently the largest provider of comprehensive cyclone insurance in the country yet despite that less than 10 percent of homes in Fiji have comprehensive insurance and less than 5 percent of that have cyclone insurance.
He says with women and children being most impacted during disasters and recovery efforts, it is important that they provide products to help those who are the most vulnerable following significant weather events, such as cyclones.
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