COVID-19 and the World of Work
Technical Meeting on Innovative and Sustainable Business Development Services (BDS) for the Informal Creative and Agriculture Sectors
The technical meeting brought together, for the first time, key Business Development Services (BDS) providers with the objective of developing innovative BDS and make them accessible to informal sector micro enterprises, particularly those in the creative and agriculture sectors impacted by COVID-19.
As we enter into the second year of the COVID-19 new normal and continued pessimistic outlook for our tourism industry, personal income and employment continues to be a priority for the International Labour Organization (ILO). The transition from formal employment to informality identified in the 2020 UN Social & Economic Impact Assessment (UNSEIA)[1] of COVID-19 continues and would have surpassed pre-COVID-19 baseline of 66.2% of workers in the informal sector.
As the informal sector bulge increases and vulnerabilities of workers and micro entrepreneur’s increases, the ILO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) convened a technical meeting from 23-24 February 2021. The technical meeting brought together, for the first time, key Business Development Services (BDS) providers with the objective of developing innovative BDS and make them accessible to informal sector micro enterprises, particularly those in the creative and agriculture sectors impacted by COVID-19.
The specific BDS that will be tailored for and delivered to affected micro enterprises will be:
(a) business training,
(b) business advisory services and
(c) business mentoring.
With the ILO and UNDP taking lead on this component, national partners include MSME Fiji of the Ministry of Commerce, Tourism, Trade and Transport (MCTTT), the Fiji Enterprise Engine (FEE) of the Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation (FCEF), New Zealand supported Business Link Pacific (BLP), Innovation Hub Fiji of the University of the South Pacific (USP) and the Australian supported Market Development Facility (MDF). The interface between these supply side actors and informal sector farmers and creative artists including their associations (Fiji Arts Council and Pacific Islands Farmers Network (PIFON), who represent the demand side of BDS, ensured that the final products were relevant to the targeted beneficiaries.
The major outcomes of this technical meeting was:
(a) formalisation of a two prone approach to delivering BDS, which was through:
i. virtual incubator and accelerator platform linking to hotels as co-working space for beneficiaries and face-to-face delivery in rural communities with low or no connectivity. The virtual platform will be lead by the Fiji Enterprise Engine (FEE) of the Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation (FCEF) and
ii. face-to-face by MSME Fiji of the Ministry of Commerce, Tourism, Trade and Transport (MCTTT) through their divisional offices.
(b) Agreement by BDS providers (supply side) and the representatives of the creative and agriculture sectors on the specific topics for BDS.
This initiative is implemented in the context of a joint project entitled “Inclusive Economic Recovery through Sustainable Enterprises in the Informal Economies of Fiji, Palau, Tonga and Vanuatu”.
As the informal sector bulge increases and vulnerabilities of workers and micro entrepreneur’s increases, the ILO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) convened a technical meeting from 23-24 February 2021. The technical meeting brought together, for the first time, key Business Development Services (BDS) providers with the objective of developing innovative BDS and make them accessible to informal sector micro enterprises, particularly those in the creative and agriculture sectors impacted by COVID-19.
The specific BDS that will be tailored for and delivered to affected micro enterprises will be:
(a) business training,
(b) business advisory services and
(c) business mentoring.
With the ILO and UNDP taking lead on this component, national partners include MSME Fiji of the Ministry of Commerce, Tourism, Trade and Transport (MCTTT), the Fiji Enterprise Engine (FEE) of the Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation (FCEF), New Zealand supported Business Link Pacific (BLP), Innovation Hub Fiji of the University of the South Pacific (USP) and the Australian supported Market Development Facility (MDF). The interface between these supply side actors and informal sector farmers and creative artists including their associations (Fiji Arts Council and Pacific Islands Farmers Network (PIFON), who represent the demand side of BDS, ensured that the final products were relevant to the targeted beneficiaries.
The major outcomes of this technical meeting was:
(a) formalisation of a two prone approach to delivering BDS, which was through:
i. virtual incubator and accelerator platform linking to hotels as co-working space for beneficiaries and face-to-face delivery in rural communities with low or no connectivity. The virtual platform will be lead by the Fiji Enterprise Engine (FEE) of the Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation (FCEF) and
ii. face-to-face by MSME Fiji of the Ministry of Commerce, Tourism, Trade and Transport (MCTTT) through their divisional offices.
(b) Agreement by BDS providers (supply side) and the representatives of the creative and agriculture sectors on the specific topics for BDS.
This initiative is implemented in the context of a joint project entitled “Inclusive Economic Recovery through Sustainable Enterprises in the Informal Economies of Fiji, Palau, Tonga and Vanuatu”.