LocationsSavings Initiative Piloted for Women Market Vendors
July 17, 2024
The launch was attended by women market vendors from Suva, Nausori and Ba, Nausori Town Council, Reserve Bank of Fiji, ANZ and UNDP representatives.
Suva, Fiji - The UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji marked a significant milestone with the soft launch of the Savings Initiative for women market vendors from Suva, Nausori, and Ba Municipal Markets. The initiative, a collaboration between UNDP and ANZ, is a key component of the Markets for Change (M4C) program, a project supported by UN Women.
In her opening remarks, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji’s Deputy Resident Representative a.i, Wei Zhang, highlighted the collective efforts and shared commitment to improving the socio-economic security of women market vendors in Fiji.
She also emphasized that the Savings Initiative is a testament to the successful partnership between UNDP and ANZ, reflecting both organizations' dedication to gender equality and economic empowerment.
Ms. Zhang stated, "The UNDP Pacific Office through its Gender Strategy 2023-2027 underscores the importance of gender equality as a matter of human rights and a driver of development progress. It also strongly promotes gender equality as smart economics and the right thing to do. Our partnership with ANZ Bank has been instrumental in bringing this initiative to life."
UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji’s Deputy Resident Representative a.i, Ms Wei Zhang.
ANZ Fiji Country Head, Mr Rabih Yazbek
This collaboration has facilitated financial literacy and basic business skills training sessions through the Money Minded program, reaching youth, women, and vulnerable groups across these nations.
ANZ Fiji Country Head, Rabih Yazbek, elaborated, “As part of the Saver Plus program pilot, participants will set a savings goal, save for 10-months, attend MoneyMinded or Business Basics financial education workshops and at the end of the program have their savings matched by ANZ, up to $500, which can be used to help ease cost of living pressures.”
He further mentioned that in partnership with UNDP “the pilot scheme will contribute to broader Pacific women’s economic empowerment.”
In Fiji alone, under the M4C Project, ANZ Bank has trained over 2,000 market vendors in all 14 provinces, with an additional 75 market vendors benefiting from this savings initiative.
The event also shed light on the impact of financial literacy training in other Pacific nations.
In Vanuatu, over 320 women market vendors from Port Vila and Santo have gained valuable skills through Money Minded modules, with some vendors registering with financial institutions.
In the Solomon Islands, 200 market vendors, including 185 women, have attended financial literacy training focused on future planning, budgeting, and assertiveness.
With some of the women market vendor representatives.
Sofia Talei, Suva Market Vendor expressed her gratitude stating, “I am so grateful to be selected to be part of the piloted Savings initiative. The next ten months will help me to put aside money to achieve my business goal. I know it won’t be easy. But it’s good that we are working together as a group, and we will be checking on each other, to see that we are saving to achieve our goal.”
Lusiane Bulu, Ba Market Vendor, said, “Before joining this initiative, many of us struggled financially – from daily expenses such as the stall fees, transportation to the market, to future planning and unexpected costs were overwhelming. Saving money felt impossible.”
“In joining the 10-month savings initiative has been a progressive change and experience for all of us. This initiative, facilitated by ANZ Bank and UNDP, provided us with the necessary tools and knowledge to take control of our finances. The training sessions on financial literacy, goal setting, and saving strategies have been incredibly valuable,” Ms Bulu added.
The savings initiative was launched on 10 July 2024.
For more information please contact:
Ashna Kumar, Communications Associate, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, ashna.kumar@undp.org
Related
content
content
