The Ministry of Trade, Co-operatives, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Communication has officially added “micro” to its name and will now be recognized as the Ministry of Trade, Co-operatives, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Communication.
This name change was approved by the Cabinet during a meeting in February of this year. The decision acknowledges the importance of the micro business sector, which constitutes about 82 percent of registered businesses in Fiji, roughly 30,000 enterprises, excluding unregistered and informally operating businesses.
Minister for Trade and MSME Manoa Kamikamica stated that while the addition of “micro” to the Ministry’s name does not alter its core functions, it emphasizes the Ministry’s commitment to supporting businesses of all sizes.
“There were concerns that we were only focusing on small MSMEs,” Kamikamica mentioned during a press conference discussing the government’s allocation to MSME initiatives. “One of our goals is to assist micro businesses in growing into small and medium enterprises, or beyond. Observing such success stories is why we have structured the Ministry as we have. To achieve this, we collaborate with other ministries to ensure the allocated funds are effectively utilized.”
Applications for funding from the Ministry’s $3.6 million allocation for MSMEs are now open to operators across Fiji.