Vodafone ATH Foundation has made a fresh investment of $2,500 into the Western Charity Alliance to help micro and small entrepreneurs in the West adopt cashless tools and access online marketplaces, the foundation announced on Friday. The funding will support training that teaches businesses how to sell on platforms such as VitiKart, accept payments via M-PAiSA and list tourism services on Booking.com, as organisers seek to accelerate Fiji’s shift to a digitally enabled, financially inclusive economy.
Volunteer consultant Selita Donu said the program goes beyond basic digital training, describing it as a model for grassroots economic change. Donu said the workshops will combine practical instruction on digital sales channels with core financial skills — bookkeeping, financial literacy, and VAT and tax compliance — and emphasised that mentorship is central to the approach so skills are retained and shared within communities.
The handover of the funding was witnessed by staff from Vualiku Hotel & Apartments. Hotel Director Vinesh Dayal welcomed the initiative, saying it strengthens volunteers into “community champions.” Dayal noted that many volunteers go on to establish their own enterprises, creating ripple effects across Fiji and the Pacific as they mentor others and expand local economic activity.
Organisers say the program is deliberately designed to create multiplier and replicator effects: trained micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will be expected to pass on knowledge to peers, volunteers will be groomed to become entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs will become local advocates for wider digital and business practice adoption. Mentorship components aim to ensure that initial training translates into sustained practice and community-level capacity building.
In addition to immediate business benefits, the Foundation highlighted broader development objectives. The initiative is being framed as contributing to multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including reducing poverty and inequalities, promoting gender equality, creating decent work, and supporting industry innovation and partnerships. Vodafone ATH Foundation programmes traditionally focus on education, health, entrepreneurship and technology-enabled community growth, and this latest small-grants intervention is intended to dovetail with that broader agenda.
Training organisers say the push to familiarise MSMEs with e-commerce platforms and mobile payments addresses two persistent barriers for small operators: limited market access and low uptake of digital financial services. By combining technical platform training with instruction on taxation and record-keeping, the project aims to reduce compliance risks while improving entrepreneurs’ ability to scale and integrate into formal digital supply chains.
The $2,500 contribution represents an early-stage pilot-style investment that backers hope will prove replicable across other communities. If successful, organisers plan to use the Western Charity Alliance partnership as a template for expanding similar training and mentorship programs to reach more of Fiji’s informal economy.
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