The Fiji Times

Parties ink deal

MOU to strengthen women’s economic empowermen­t

- By ABISHEK CHAND

MARKET SNAPSHOT

STRI as at May 09, 2022 = 7856.25 LOCAL SHARE PRICES

Atlantic and Pac. Pack. Telecom Holdings Communicat­ions Fiji Ltd Bird Institute Ltd Insurance Ltd Foods Ltd Television Ltd Finance Ltd Growth Fund Ltd Global Ltd Denarau Marina Ltd Green Ind. Fiji Ltd Patel Group Fiji Ltd Comp. of Fiji Ltd Tsusho Sth Sea Holdings Investment­s Ltd Holdings Ltd Convertibl­e Notes

Amal. 301 Free FijiCare FMF Fiji Kontiki Kinetic Pleass Port Pac. RB Rice Toyota VB Vision Fijian

THE South Pacific Business Developmen­t (SPBD) Fiji and Australian Volunteers Internatio­nal (AVI) signed a memorandum of understand­ing to strengthen women’s economic empowermen­t in the country through the Fiji Bloom Program.

According to a statement from SPBD the program aims to transform women-owned informal enterprise­s into formal business entities.

This would be achieved by providing access to business developmen­t support and accelerato­r services.

AVI Internatio­nal Services executive manager Ipsita Wright said the partnershi­p was based on mutual respect and trust lay at the heart of everything they did at AVI.

“This fantastic partnershi­p will help support the next phase of Fiji Bloom, creating new opportunit­ies for women in Fiji to rise beyond a micro-level business and grow into thriving formalised small medium enterprise owners,” she said,

SPBD Fiji general manager Elrico Munoz said the partnershi­p presented a great opportunit­y for them to relaunch Fiji Bloom and work with empowering their women entreprene­urs at a time

-

when they needed them the most.

The Fiji Bloom was first launched in 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak and successful­ly completed its first cohort of 10 business accelerato­r graduates.

Now that COVID-19 restrictio­ns have eased, AVI and SPBD Fiji will be putting their collective focus towards the economic recovery of these women entreprene­urs by providing financial and business developmen­t training in more than 400 villages across Fiji.

AVI would also raise funds, mobilise volunteers and provide technical assistance to the Fiji Bloom Program.

Fiji Bloom was also supported by the Financial Management Cousellors Associatio­n of Fiji (FMCAF) and the Women Entreprene­urs and Business Council (WEBC).

 ?? Picture: SUPPLIED ?? The SPBD Fiji and Australian Volunteers Internatio­nal (AVI) signed an MOU to strengthen women’s economic empowermen­t in the country through the Fiji Bloom Program.
Picture: SUPPLIED The SPBD Fiji and Australian Volunteers Internatio­nal (AVI) signed an MOU to strengthen women’s economic empowermen­t in the country through the Fiji Bloom Program.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Fiji