It has been nearly two years since Fiji’s business economy has been fighting a ruthless battle to survive this global pandemic and to sustain their businesses.
COVID-19 has forced many businesses to step out of their comfort zone of operations and discover alternative ways of generating income and attracting customers without the casual walk-in service.
Many SMEs are still struggling to make ends meet because of financial constraints, or because they were unable to diversify their business to meet the current market needs.
Business Link Pacific’s Adaptation Grant could not have come to Fiji at a more convenient time, then this, when SMEs were genuinely looking out for assistance to sustain and grow their business.
A huge number of SMEs in Fiji and around the Pacific have already received the first round of the adaptation grant, which they have used for various business expenses such as, buying of stock, buying of assets for the business or purchasing materials to build nurseries.
Today, we will be reading testimonies of a couple of grant recipients about their journey in connecting with BLP and receiving the grant.
Doreen Robinson, the director of Kahuna Herbal Products, was relieved to have been assisted by BLP after having to deal with two back to back cyclones early this year causing damage to her farm produce.
She says that after the natural disaster hit, they had to come up with a plan to diversify their business to introduce multiple generating streams and avoid “having all their eggs in one basket”.
“We hope to increase our product range so we can plant ginger, turmeric and pineapple, which are more likely to survive a cyclone far more effectively than our taller noni trees.
“The equipment purchased from the grant will enable us to prepare for the exercise of clearing and landscaping as well as planting not just ginger, turmeric and pineapple but also ornamental/decorative native species,” said Ms Robinson.
She advices SMEs to think outside the box and to get in contact with the BLP team to take advantage of the services they offer to help improve and diversify businesses.
With hotels not being able to open its doors to tourist and borders being shut because of the global pandemic the creative arts industry faced quiet a set back as they did not have much content to deliver compared to their busy schedules in the past years.
Many dancers did not get much work as concerts were put on hold or hotels that hired them to perform could not do so as they did not have guests coming in due to the lockdowns.
One such dance group is the locally and internationally known figure called the VOU dance group.
VOU Dance Fiji Ltd director Sachiko Soro shared how difficult the past year has been for her dancers and how they had to branch out and provide their creative art dancing to music composers to ensure they could sustain all their performers.
“Through the BLP Adaptation Grant we were able to secure the services of key suppliers such as music composers and video makers to help us with new content for new performing arts products, that we have coming out, which will help us secure more contracts in future.
“We were also able to buy equipment for a new attraction that we will be opening up soon to the local market in Fiji, it is still being shipped to Fiji as we speak,” said Ms Soro.
She highlighted that they lost almost 100 per cent of their income over night which was a reminder of what was important — it is the people.
“We were determined to look after our team, so we did not let anyone go but found new ways of working using our creative skills to generate new income pathways. There were great lessons learnt in this pandemic the most important of which was to be able to diversify,” she said.
The businesswoman expressed how easy and simple it was to apply for the grant.
“This is such an amazing service the New Zealand Government is giving to the Pacific in helping SMEs that will then help their staff and the communities they work in. It’s such a genius way to support the Pacific Islands through this pandemic and we are truly so grateful.
“What all SMEs need at the moment is cash and this grant will save many businesses from the brink of collapse. We need our SMEs to survive this storm so that people have places to return to for work,” concluded Ms Soro.
Apart from hotels, travel agencies in Fiji have been badly affected by COVID-19 as their income solely depends on people travelling which had stopped due to the lockdown and borders being closed.
Dynasty Tours and Travel director Hriday Daswaney shared that during this difficult time they had no option but to place their entire staff on unpaid leave as there was no income to keep the business operational.
Through the adaptation grant Ms Daswaney would be able to boost the business online presence and website to attract the oversea and local tourists as borders are near to opening and restrictions have eased in Fiji allowing for inter-island travels.
“Many of us get overwhelmed when it comes to documentation and forms and give up mid-way. However, I encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunities given by BLP to the fullest and to work on areas within your business that need attention so you can take the business to the next level,” said Ms Daswaney.
BLP has assisted many businesses in Fiji not only through the grant but also by providing services such as the Business Health Check, the Business Continuity Planner and the Finance Finder that helps an SME to find a BLP Certified business advisor who can assist them in growing their business.
You can always email fiji@businesslinkpacific.com to get a business diagnostics done by BLP Business Service manager Ramesh Chand. Mr Chand is dedicated to helping businesses better understand the areas that need improvement.
