A newly launched product by Merchant Finance and Good Return is aimed at tackling the financial challenges faced by women building businesses in Fiji.

EmpowHER AgriLoan is a specialised loan for women-owned businesses in the fruit, vegetable, and marine sectors.

The loan is specifically designed to assist in purchasing equipment that will help these businesses to expand and thrive.

It is open to women who run businesses as suppliers, growers, transporters, processors or retailers – ensuring a boost for women along the value chain. Merchant Finance is administering the loans, and Good Return is providing a guarantee for the loans via its Australian-funded Impact Investment Fund.

“Empowering women in agriculture is crucial for the growth and development of the sector”, says Veilawa Rereiwasaliwa, CEO of Merchant Finance. “The loan targets existing businesses who want to scale up and the guarantee by Good Return allows us to provide financing to customers who have a strong business case but insufficient collateral to get a loan normally.”

Good Return is a social purpose organisation working across the Asia Pacific region, with a focus on enabling women and their families to access opportunity and build financial security. The Good Return team in Fiji has identified many women in agriculture facing obstacles in expanding their business, and struggling to counteract the high risks from working in farming.

“This partnership with Merchant Finance is an important step in breaking down the barriers women in Fiji face when they are striving to grow their businesses” says Shane Nichols, CEO of Good Return. “Too often, women are left out of the banking system or banking staff do not understand their needs. And this means a vital part of the community is not able to contribute to economic growth and resilience.”