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Small businesses affected by flooding, particularly in the Western Division, need urgent equity financing, says the Suva Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber President Dr Nur Bano Ali said this needed to be done quickly so small businesses did not lose hope and close down at a time when the local economy needed these businesses to rejuvenate the economy.
She said the Chamber had written to commercial banks to assist small businesses, particularly with suspension of loan repayments and a reduction in interest rates.
“We have also written to the Fiji Development Bank (FDB) and we have asked the Government to put up an equity scheme. The FDB used to have provisions for equity refinancing and we are asking them to rekindle that,” Ali told FijiLive.
“We are hoping to have a meeting with them in the next couple of days when the weather subsides to discuss this,” she said.
“These small businesses have lost out substantially and they don’t need bigger debts, they need equity financing and funds need to be channelled through that,” she added.
Ali said most businesses in the West, Nadi in particular, incurred substantial damage and most business owners were depressed and had lost motivation to get up and rebuild their businesses.
“This is why we need to have a clear mechanism in place immediately. We need to set up a special taskforce immediately where we can out our heads together and develop a special package to assist these small businesses,” she said.
“We will need to deal with these businesses on a case-by-case basis so we can determine the damage incurred and how much they will need to rebuild their business. We need to assist them because without them, the economy will struggle even further.”
Ali reiterated that immediate action was crucial, particularly in setting up the proposed taskforce, so to motivate and inspire depressed business owners.
“They need to know that there is a place for them to go to seek assistance. As for affected businesses, they are welcome to contact the Chamber and submit their submissions and we will forward it to relevant authorities for them,” she said.
Some businesses in the West have reported damage estimated between $300,000 and $400,000.
