Three village and community women’s groups have been handed income-generating equipment under the Women Economic Empowerment Project in a fresh push to convert short-term aid into lasting business opportunities for Fijian women. The assistance, delivered through a partnership between the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), targets grassroots enterprises and aims to strengthen household incomes and local economies.
The beneficiary groups named at the handover ceremony were the Shree Santan Dharm Women’s Group, Vadrakula Women’s Club and Navaka Women’s Club. Each group received equipment intended to help members establish or expand small businesses, with the Ministry describing the items as an investment in sustainable livelihoods rather than one-off support. Officials declined to specify the exact types of machines supplied at the event.
Acting Permanent Secretary Selina Kuruleca framed the project as a strategic shift in the Ministry’s approach, saying emphasis is moving away from short-term assistance toward initiatives that create longer-term economic opportunities for women. Kuruleca said the project directly supports the National Action Plan on Women’s Economic Empowerment and will help women “earn an income, grow their enterprises and create opportunities that benefit future generations.” She added that broader economic empowerment of women also strengthens families, communities and national resilience.
KOICA Country Director Hankyulsam Cho reiterated his agency’s commitment to advancing women’s empowerment in Fiji, underlining that greater participation by women in economic activities produces long-term benefits for households and national development. The equipment handover forms part of KOICA’s continuing development cooperation with Fiji focused on inclusive growth and community-level capacity building.
The handover is the latest development in a series of government and partner actions designed to improve women’s access to economic resources and finance. In recent months Fiji has pursued parallel measures to close gender gaps in business finance and enterprise support — including the signing of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WE‑Fi) Code by additional financial institutions and continued expansion of microfinance lending to women-led businesses — underscoring a broader ecosystem of support that the Ministry says this project complements.
Ministry officials said the Women Economic Empowerment Project will continue to work with local groups and development partners to scale up practical measures that drive self-reliance, though no timetable for further rollouts was provided at the ceremony. For the three beneficiary groups, the equipment represents an immediate boost to their capacity to generate income, while fitting into a longer-term national strategy to elevate women’s roles in Fiji’s economy.