Access to financial literacy programs could boost the growth of SMEs and the Fiji Development Bank (FDB) in partnership with Visa is now ready to provide that access.
Minister for Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad officiated FDB’s launch of its Digital Financial Literacy program in Suva yesterday.
“I’ve met a lot of business people in my journey who were not accountants, who were not degree holders, who were not people with executive management training, these were ordinary people who have mustered financial literacy skills through small family businesses, and some of them have started in very small ways and over the years they have become successful business people.
“So, financial literacy is very critical to the success of SMEs,” Prof Prasad said at the launch event. Senior director, inclusive impact and sustainability of Visa Asia Pacific Nate Low said, “We are very proud and excited and extremely honoured to partner with the FDB today to launch one of our first financial education partnerships in the Pacific. So, on behalf of Visa, I’d like to commend and thank the Fiji Development Bank and the ministry of finance for their leadership and partnership in building a financially capable and knowledgeable community of individuals and MSMEs who will advance the economic growth of Fiji.”
The financial literacy program now available on the FDB website provides access to business templates, loan and revenue calculators, informative videos and many other resources for business owners. According to FDB CEO Saud Minam outreach programs will also be conducted in selected communities where the financial literacy programs would be most likely to reach SME business owners in need of the resources.
“The beauty of FDB is that we are present at areas like Rakiraki, Seaqaqa, Taveuni.
“So we have the teams that are already aware of the areas and what happens in those areas, so we’ll be utilising them,” Mr Minam said of his plans for a proactive approach to marketing the program.
The FDB is working on extending the platform to include similar resources in i-Taukei and Fiji Baat.
