We talk to Lagi Fisher about how the subsidy scheme is helping local owners get up and running again
Opening up about his own business venture and vision for Fijian business owners, Lagi Fisher, owner of Niudawn Resource Procurement and Consultancy (NRP) and President of the Financial Management Counsellors Association in Fiji talks to us about his role as a BLP Business Advisor, supporting women-led SMEs and how business owners can continue to move forward in times of difficulty.
With more than 10 years of experience in development banking, agribusiness financing, and business consulting Lagi decided to open up his own financial planning and accounting firm in 2018. A decision motivated by a desire to see Fijian citizens be able to access financial services in an enabling business environment. In the same year, he also became a registered BLP Business Advisor.
Having watched my own parents run a small business in order to pay for my education, I’m driven to support as many local businesses owners as possible so they can gain access to finance and run a successful trade.
I’m very interested in working with not-for-profit and women-led businesses who have a turnover of less than $30,000 a year. It is these businesses that will grow and be able to find support in programmes like the ones provided by BLP but also support a wider community in Fiji,” says Lagi.
While supporting owners to get up and running with their businesses through his role at the financial Management Councillors Association, Lagi also advises local SME owners through the BLP programme.
Having access to the BLP programme and being part of the advisory network is very important for me and for the Pacific.
Normally we would see advisory roles go to expatriates but through BLP we can help local people become confident with our services and gain access to things like financial and business continuity planning through BLP subsidies,” says Lagi.
Recently, Lagi’s business supported seven local SMEs to gain access to his services through subsidies at BLP. The seven businesses were all previously operating in the Suva Flea Market, which was engulfed by flames in May 2020. A disaster within a disaster as described by Lagi.
Value City, fully engulfed in flames, Suva, Fiji.
Supporting the SMEs who were affected and traumatised by the disaster that took place in the Suva Flea Market has been very fulfilling.
Through the BLP subsidy scheme, I have been able to help these businesses, who are no longer making money, work on recovery plans, diversifying their businesses and gain access to loans from the Fiji Development Bank and MSMEs stimulus packages from the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transportwhich has been difficult post-COVID-19,” says Lagi.
Because Lagi’s services have been covered by the COVID-19 response subsidy, he has been able to spend quality time helping these locals get up and running again.
Four out of seven businesses have received support from the MSME stimulus package and Lagi is working on getting more financial assistance for the remaining three businesses.
In discussing this crisis we asked Lagi about how businesses are managing to keep afloat during the pandemic and for his insight into the situation over in Fiji at present.
While the pandemic has been absolutely devastating we’ve also seen many new businesses rise from the ashes over here.
For example, five-star chefs who were working at hotels are now opening up their own local businesses and are looking for business advisory support in applying for grants, managing finances and marketing,” says Lagi.
With one-third of the Fijian workforce having lost their jobs or had hours cut because of COVID-19 it is humbling to see people support each other to diversify their businesses and try out something new Lagi explains.
Speaking to the health of his own business, Lagi says they have been busier than usual during this unprecedented time.
If it wasn’t for the curfews in Fiji, we would be up all night working on grant applications and supporting businesses to gain access to finance and work on marketing, says Lagi.
I’ve been very lucky to have the demand for our services and have been able to hire more local casual workers to support this demand,” he adds.
For Lagi, the future is about continuing to help SMEs survive this global pandemic with his key advice for these businesses being:
Look for innovative ways to solve your problem, do your homework before diversifying and most importantly don’t make any decisions out of panic”.
The BLP Subsidy Scheme is designed to make advisory services more affordable, minimise risks and introduce businesses to reliable and quality services.
BLP currently offer 2 types of subsidies:
The COVID-19 Response: Up to 100% subsidies through BLP approved advisors focusing on services that support business continuity, contingency planning, access to available financial packages, refinancing and renegotiating loans and new working setups, such as IT systems, access to communications platforms and cloud-based software.
General Subsidy: Up to 50% subsidy through BLP approved advisors in areas that are not related to COVID-19 or affect the continuity of the business.
If you are a Fiji-based business with between 5-50 employees you can apply for a subsidy through any BLP approved business advisor. Look for business advisors that have been quality approved for subsidies, this is clearly indicated in their profile. Alternatively, you can get support with this process by emailing [email protected]