to be successful in business. you may be aware that financial literacy is now being integrated into the school curriculum and taught in all primary and secondary schools in fiji since 2013. a pilot program with 28 schools commenced in 2012. starting early at primary school level will ensure that our citizens of tomorrow will not only be financially literate but more important we are instilling in our children some form of responsibility and financial discipline at an early age. • finally, ladies and gentlemen, we have some successful business people in this council and in this room. you are important role models and mentors for upcoming i ’ taukei business entrepreneurs. if we look at the non i ’ taukeis we will note that the tricks of the trade are passed down from one generation to another. i therefore urge you as i ’ taukei business leaders to please continue to mentor our people who are thinking of starting a business or have just started one. there are no better role models than you to help them succeed. i wish you every success. may your business ventures continue to be a blessing to you, your families and our beloved country, fiji. vinaka vakalevu. bis central bankers ’ speeches

, $ 4. 0 million for energy projects. of the total $ 80 million allocated by the rbf for the facility, approximately $ 25. 6 million still remains unutilised. the government also continues to support msme development with various funding allocations and policies in its national budgets. bis central bankers ’ speeches to better monitor the development of the msme sector, the rbf and solicitor general ’ s office will work together to put in place a legal framework for the governance of mfis. in 2012, the government announced the sme credit guarantee scheme. under the scheme, the government guarantees to pay 50 percent of the principal outstanding amount on defaulted sme loans, up to a limit of $ 50, 000 per business. today, the total allocation for this scheme has increased to $ 4 million with a total of 483 loans covered under the scheme at a value of $ 28. 6 million, to date. moreover, to support and facilitate economic activity, the government has in recent years focused its funding on the development of infrastructure – particularly on roads and bridges and utilities – which will improve access and encourage msme activity. in 2013, the reserve bank introduced the first ever national microfinance awards with three categories the best microfinance entrepreneur – individual, the best microfinance entrepreneur – partnership and the best microfinance service provider to recognise the contribution of msme ’ s and micro - entrepreneurs in fiji. 4. i now move on to some personal observations for us, the i ’ taukeis to succeed in business • when i was invited by mr joe taoi to deliver this presentation, my initial reaction was that i am not an authority on the subject matter as i do not have the experience of being in a private business. however, my background as an accountant and my almost four decade experience as a central banker has taught me some lessons that i feel are important to share with you at this forum. my first advice to aspiring i ’ taukei businessmen and women is that revenue is not equal to profit. a lot of businesses, including our i ’ taukei businesses fail because of this simple misconception. • secondly, to invest in a business, we first must learn to save. as i ’ taukeis our savings rate is much lower compared with others. if we do not save, we will not be able to start a business or use our saving as equity to borrow from the banks. building up savings and prudent management of our