Page 46 - Islands Business May 2023

SPBD SPBD

Business Assistance Fiji General Manager, Ramesh Chand with digital financial literacy training participants.

FIJIAN BUSINESSWOMEN RECEIVE

DIGITAL FINANCIAL LITERACY TRAINING

Twenty Fijian women recently benefitted from an engaging eBay, where they can sell their business products and save on
three-day training program organised by Business Assistance business costs,” Chand added.
Fiji (BAF), in collaboration with South Pacific Business As for Debt Management, Chand says a lot of MSMEs in Fiji
Development (SPBD) and the Centre for Excellence in took business loans during COVID-19 and are facing difficulties
Financial Inclusion (CEFI). in repaying them. “Our debt management training can assist
“BAF builds a network of service providers in the areas them in organising themselves in a way that they are able to
of accounting, financial management, loan facilitation, meet their debt obligations and also plan for future loans that
e-commerce, digital transformation, marketing standards, they wish to take,” he noted. Cash flow management was one
and human resource management,” says BAF General of the main skills taught to participants to combat debt.
Manager, Ramesh Chand. BAF plans to run similar training in all divisions.
Through this network, BAF provides training that diagnoses SPBD Director, Lorraine Seeto says the training will give
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and identifies SPBD members a better insight of the journey in joining the
areas of improvement where service providers can assist. formal MSME sector.
The recent training at SPBD’s headquarters in Suva covered With the training, SPBD will continue their support in
three topics: Digital Financial Literacy, E-commerce, and helping members register their businesses, Seeto said.
Business Planning & Debt Management. “FRCS officials have provided training on tax identification
“Digital financial literacy is a very important topic. numbers, income tax returns and tax compliance certificates,
The participants were taught the pros and cons of using and is willing to come onsite at SPBD’s headquarters and other
digital platforms,” said Chand. The training also covered branches to assist SPBD members with regulatory issues,” she
cybersecurity risks. said.
Digital products and services available to MSMEs were also “It is through such collaboration and cooperation
discussed, including internet and mobile banking, EFTPOS, together with assistance provided by the authorities that
and digital wallets such as PayPal. SPBD members will be adhering to the requirements of the
“The participants learnt about the benefits of various regulatory agencies,” she added.
online (e-commerce) platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba and

46 Islands Business, May 2023
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