Key to economic growth
LEADERSHIP-LED growth, economic diversification, and the role of industry experts are key to enhancing our still recovering economy. These were some of the strategies presented by president of AsiaPacific Applied Economics Association (APAEA) Professor Paresh Narayan at the second Knowledge Economy Lecture held at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva this week.
Prof Narayan spoke of the importance of adequate leadership training for leadership-led growth to be made a strong possibility at both the industrial and national levels.
“So the leadership model that APAEA has developed, for instance, it takes people through different settings that one would expect to experience in the real world. And this is not taught by academics, this is taught by industry leaders, for example those who have retired. So we’re getting these people with real world experience to come and share those types of real world situations,” he suggested.
Further investment into the BPO sector was brought up as a means to diversify Fiji’s major exports and Prof Narayan said, “Our trade missions need to play a more integral part in this. Obviously with a new government they will have new approaches, new ways of engaging the trade missions abroad. So I think it’s important for the trade missions to be innovative in how they connect with the foreign audience, the business sector, the corporate world. And showcases and getting to those trade fairs, I think it’s a very important part of the strategy.”
He commended the efforts made by Outsource Fiji in organising such a showcase in New Zealand saying, “You’re going to get more mileage out of a forum which you organise on your own as opposed to taking a small space in someone else’s forum.”