FDB launches new facility for women entrepreneurs

Hon Mr. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum meeting the women vendors at the FDB mini-market day.

As part of its 55^th anniversary celebration, the Fiji Development Bank (FDB) today launched a new facility for women entrepreneurs.

The aim of the FDB Loan for Women Entrepreneurs is to strengthen the Bank’s capacity to promote gender and diversity.

While officiating the anniversary celebration at FDB Head Office in Suva, Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Civil Service, Communications, Housing, and Community Development, Hon Mr. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said with this new initiative, FDB will be able to expand its footprint, particularly in the female entrepreneurship space.

“The idea is to get more women in the areas of businesses and give them that leg-up that is necessary for them to have the solid foundation in becoming large entrepreneurs,” said Hon Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum.

He also acknowledged FDB staff for implementing enormous changes in the manner that the institution now conducts its business.

The Hon AG commended FDB for its leadership foresight and modernizing its customer service through technology adaptation giving clients greater flexibility and quicker and feedback.

“There is a huge requirement now by the members of the public for better service delivery. The days of filling manual forms, physically handing them in and waiting for days for the responses has all changed.”

“The ability to stand out as an organization, your reputation and your credibility will also increase if you are able to adopt and adept to the technological changes that are taking place in the society and that’s critically important,” said the Hon Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum.

FDB CEO, Mr. Saud Minam said the anniversary marks a momentous occasion for the Bank and it is an opportune time for the institution to reflect on its achievements over the decades and paint the direction the Bank should now focus on.

“We are aggressively approaching our target customers and we would like to have 50,000 customers by the end of 2025 with our focus remaining on SMEs, MSMEs and agriculture.”

“We will continue to tailor make financial solutions targeting specific sectors of the economy and the FDB Loan for Women Entrepreneurs is an example of our commitment.”

Mr. Minam highlighted that as a way forward, FDB in its plan to focus on women’s economic empowerment, inclusivity and supporting women-led businesses, has developed the newly-launched facility.

“This solution reaffirms the Bank’s commitment to Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Policy (GESI). Through this facility, we also aim to raise the value of female loan applicants within FDB from 11 percent to 25 percent in the next three years to create a more conducive and gender responsive business environment.”

Mr. Minam also acknowledged the government’s support to FDB and reassured that the Bank will continue to develop innovative products for Fijians to flourish in their ventures and become resilient businesses of our economy.

Features of FDB Loan for Women Entrepreneurs

• MSME Women entrepreneurs operating as sole traders, joint ventures and partnership businesses who have been operating a registered MSME business for more than 6 months are eligible to apply.
• The purpose of the loan can be for working capital needs and or expansion of business.
• Minimum loan of $1,000 to $5,000 with a maximum loan term of 3 years.
• 10% equity to be provided through the Fijian Government.

Applications open from 1^st of August on our website www.fdb.com.fj

FDB CEO, Mr Saud Minam with women entrepreneurs at the mini-market day.