Fijians turn life around after grants
Makereta Navunicagi’s interest in tailoring began many years ago when her mother sat her down for sewing lessons nearly every day.
And in 2015, she received the $1000 Micro and Small Business Grant (MSBG) from the Government which she used to buy an overlocking machine for her business.
Today, the 50-year-old mother runs a fullfledged tailoring and screen printing enterprise from her modest home in Reba Circle, Nadera. In a community of mostly housewives, Ms Navunicagi is a woman entrepreneur.
She also uses her talent to train women in her church group in a bid to empower and equip them for a better future.
Families in the area now depend on her for even the smallest tailoring jobs. Productivity since the purchase of the new machine has increased markedly and has helped the Yasawa-i-Rara native earn a livelihood to match her security officer husband’s earnings. “Before, it was just my husband who supported the family but now, with earnings from my business, I pay the electricity bill and do whatever I can to help him,” she said.
The Small and Micro Enterprises (SME) sector contributes approximately $800 million (12 per cent) towards Fiji’s Gross Domestic Product. The Government has recently beefed up efforts to encourage local start-ups.
But it has not always been smooth-sailing for the mother-of-four.
Finding time between the responsibilities of motherhood and her role as a wife to focus on her work has been challenging.
“Yes, it can be very demanding sometimes,” she said.
“But my husband has supported me from the start and I’ve learned to improvise. For example, I complete my work while my children do their homework in the afternoon.”
Her ambition is to one day own a clothing store of her own
“The government grant has helped me a lot and I’d encourage more women to apply for it.” “However, success requires a lot of hard work and people with goals should not give up.”