On the road to recovery: Eventuros Fiji assists Vee’s Organic Farm to create its online presence
The COVID-19 crisis may be far from over in many countries around the world, however, in a select few Pacific Island nations, businesses are starting to forge a path to a ‘new normal’, and taking steps in the direction of business recovery.
In March, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Business Link Pacific implemented a COVID-19 100% Subsidy Support Package, to support SMEs in Pacific Island countries who had been impacted by the crisis, with a focus on crisis management and business continuity.
In our latest blog, we gain insight from Dipti Sharma, owner of Eventuros Fiji, a digital marketing agency and a BLP quality approved business advisor, about the 100% subsidy project she is currently working on with Fiji-based SME, Vee’s Organic Farm.
Vee’s Organic Farm is owned and operated by Vitila Vuniwaqa, a female entrepreneur and farmer, based in Sabeto on the outskirts of Nadi, Fiji.
The farm produces honey and a variety of organically grown fruits and vegetables. Vitila also makes a range of jams, pickles and natural beauty products, which she sells at local markets. The 12-acre farm is the gateway to a popular hiking trail and waterfall, making Vee’s Organic Farm an even more valuable tourist attraction for Nadi, Fiji’s major tourism hub.
With the recent COVID-19 travel restrictions, lockdown and curfew rules, visitors to Vee’s Organic Farm dropped drastically, as did revenue. At the peak of the crisis, Fiji was on lockdown for 14 days in Nadi, Lautoka and Ba. The long term effects of border control and the overall lack of global travel and tourism, has meant that Pacific Island-based businesses like Vee’s Organic Farm, have not been receiving the usual amount of tourist traffic.
To support the continuity and recovery of Vee’s Organic Farm, Vitila reached out to quality approved BLP business advisor Eventuros Fiji for business advisory services.
Eventuros Fiji, owned by female entrepreneur Dipti Sharma, is an experienced marketing agency specialising in digital marketing, web development, hosting and design, branding, e-commerce, SEO and social media marketing.
The Eventuros team is currently assisting Vee’s Organic Farm in developing its online presence. In particular, the team is developing a website for Vee’s Organic Farm, improving brand consistency (which includes designing a logo, colour palette and marketing collateral) and providing copywriting, social media management, photography and SEO assistance.
As Dipti explains, it has been a journey with Vitila to get to this point.
“We started out by spending a fair amount of time with Vitila at her farm, learning about her business, the produce she is cultivating, and all the natural organic products she has developed from her crops”.
Vitila makes use of all the natural resources on her farm and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the health benefits of each plant. Each crop has a purpose, and this information has been gathered for the businesses new website so local products can be showcased.
“I believe it’s important as a business advisor to spend time with the client and understand their motivations for running their business. I know for us [Eventuros] that makes our job so much more effective, in terms of creating authentic content and branding for the business”.
The cost of this business advice and support has been fully subsidised by BLP’s 100% Subsidy support package.
“We’ve known of Vitila and Vee’s Organic Farm for a while now, she is a well-known business owner in West Fiji and we’ve always wanted to help her out, but unfortunately she had financial constraints, so enhancing her brand hasn’t been her top priority”.
Using the BLP 100% Subsidy, Vitila was able to access full digital marketing services from Eventuros, at a time when it was crucial for her to rethink her marketing strategy.
“Now is a great time for her to enhance her brand and online presence. With the current global situation, everyone here in Fiji and even overseas are online more than ever. Creating a consistent, well-executed online presence will make Vee’s Organic Farm more visible and ultimately more accessible to customers”.
Dipti is a firm believer that people buy a brand as much as they buy a product, so a well-designed logo, suite of marketing collateral and a consistent online and offline brand presence is vital for a growing business.
“Thanks to BLP, Vitila will have a strong digital presence. She has beautiful organically grown produce, natural products with amazing health benefits, as well as eco-tourism, and all of this needs to be shared with the general public”.
When asked what she enjoys most about being a BLP business advisor, Dipti shares,
“It gives me a sense of personal satisfaction. I am able to share my knowledge and experience with SME business owners and entrepreneurs, and I especially relish sharing advice about digital marketing and developing an online presence. I love helping business owners reach their long-term goals of business growth and success”.
Eventuros is currently In the process of developing the Vee’s Organic Farm website, which will move to a beta testing phase shortly. We’ll be checking back in with Vee’s Organic Farm in a few months, to see how an increased online presence and quality business advice has impacted her business growth.
If you’re interested in accessing BLP business advisory services from a local business advisor, you can choose from the following options:
- Contact your in-country representative for more information.
- Use our free online Essential Business Tools, the Business Health Check and the Business Continuity Planner, to see where there might be gaps in your business that could benefit from quality business advice.
- Visit our website and search through our database of over 60 BLP quality approved business advisors, to see which one meets your needs. BLP approved partners can help you gain access to subsidised business advisory services.