It is a great honour to address you today at this pivotal gathering of professionals – who sit at the core of our nation’s business and financial systems.
Accountants are more than number-crunchers—you are key enablers of transparency, strategy, and economic growth.
Today, I want to share with you how the Government of Fiji through it’s Development Plans and Digitalisation – is Making Doing Business Easy.
Slide 1: Opening – Setting the Scene
Hon DPMs, Chair and Board members of FICA
Let me start with where the World is heading.
Right now, more than 5.5 billion people are online. As per the Digital Economy Report Pacific Edition 2024, 85.2% of people in Fiji have access to the internet.And how does this relate to the Global Digital Economy?
Well, It’s growing faster than the Global GDP—and is expected to reach over 16 trillion US dollars by 2028. Currently for Fiji, ICT only contributes to 4.2% of our GDP.
There are 62 million full time ICT professionals around the world.
In fact, studies show that more than two-thirds of future economic value will come from digitally enabled platforms and services.
What this tells us is simple:
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Digital is no longer a choice we make. It’s the new standard that we must adopt.
It’s how economies grow, how services are delivered, and how businesses—small or large—stay competitive.
Slide 3: The Fijian Business Reality
But here at home, we know the reality.
For many Fijian businesses, especially our small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), up till recently, the experience of doing business still involves—
– Long queues…
– Manual forms…
– Multiple visits to multiple agencies…
– And in many cases—no clear direction.
Whether it’s registering a business, accessing a government service, seeking an approval or even finding the right information—
The process can be slow, confusing, and—let’s be honest—frustrating.
And that frustration has real consequences:
It discourages investment, slows growth, and holds back job creation.
So the question we asked ourselves in Government was—how do we try and fix all this? How can digitalisation help us?
Slide 4: From Vision to Framework – The National Digital Strategy
Our answer came in the form of the National Digital Strategy 2025–2030, which was launched by Hon DPM in April this year.
This isn’t just a policy. It’s a national roadmap for digitalisation – Digital Economy.
The NDS blueprint to build a digitally empowered, inclusive, and resilient Fiji—through which doing business can become simple, fast, and secure.
The Strategy is built around five powerful pillars. And within each of these, are the enablers—the tools and systems—needed to get us there.
Let me walk you through them.
Slide 5: NDS Thematic Areas
The NDS stands on five thematic areas, and – each one connects directly to ease of doing business:
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Digital Infrastructure & Cyber Resilience
Ensures every person and business in Fiji — urban or rural—has reliable internet, secure platforms, and access to digital services.
→ No business should fail because it cannot be connected.
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Digital Inclusion & Empowerment
Upskills citizens and entrepreneurs to thrive in the digital space.
→A more capable, digitally empowered workforce for every business.
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Innovation-Led Economic Growth
Drives MSME digitalisation, startup ecosystems, and access to online markets. → Even the smallest business can scale up digitally and reach markets beyond our borders.
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Smart Governance & Digital Public Services
Move 80% of key Government services online by 2030.
→ No more long queues or manual processes. Registration, permits, taxes, grants, assistance, trainings and payments—all online.
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Sustainable Development & Global Cooperation
Aligns Fiji with global digital standards, partnerships and sustainable development goals
→Enables trade, investment, and international trust.
Together, these pillars are removing friction (pain points), cutting red tape, and preparing Fijian businesses to compete in a connected world.
The NDS also sets out bold but achievable targets for 2030:
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80% of key government services to be online and paperless.
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Universal access, ensuring 100% internet coverage across Fiji through terrestrial or satellite means.
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Implementation of a secure digital National ID for all citizens
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80% digital inclusion across all demographics.
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Development of a thriving Digital Economy, led by MSMEs, supported by data, and protected by trust.
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Creation of 40,000 well paid jobs in the ICT Sector
Slide 6: Legal and Policy Foundations
Connectivity without protection is a risk. Systems without rules create confusion. That’s why our legal and policy backbone is evolving:
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The National E-Commerce Strategy (2025-2029), launched in March 2025, aims to enable safe, trusted digital trade and formalisation — especially for MSMEs.
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The Cybersecurity Strategy is in it’s final stages — this will build on the Computer Emergency Response Team’s capacity in the Ministry and Government and include regional coordination.
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A Privacy and Data Protection Policy is currently being developed to uphold ethical data practices and safeguard the rights of individuals in Fiji’s digital ecosystem
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AI and Cloud-first Policies are also under development — not just to regulate, but to enable trusted use of AI in public finance, service delivery, and fraud detection, while encouraging private sector innovation.
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The Digital Government Transformation Office (DGTO) has also been mandated by Cabinet to ensure all Ministries comply with Government’s digitalisation policies — this means no duplication, no fragmentation and interoperability across Government systems.
These create the certainty and safeguards investors, citizens, and partners demand.
Slide 7: Removing Friction – Laying the Digital Rails for Trade and Investment
In response to the present realities of Government systems, the complexity, outdated bureaucracies and delays, we have embarked on building a robust digital backbone for trade and investment.
This is not just about creating efficiency — it’s about predictability, transparency, and investor confidence.
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The Trade Information Portal is near operational — a digital one-stop reference for all trade rules, documents, and procedures, related supply chain and trading across Fiji borders.
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A National Single Window System will also follow the TIP. It will eventually link all border and regulatory agencies, allowing importers, exporters, and investors to submit documents – under one platform — and once only.
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The digitised MSME and Cooperatives Registry and Database allows us to target support with precision, link MSMEs to markets and finance, and integrate them into our national e-commerce architecture.
These are foundational projects — quietly powerful — removing friction where it hurts most (Pain Points).
Slide 8: Flagship Digitalisation – FILPAS, SABS, BPAS
We now have FILPAS — the Fiji Integrated Licensing and Permit Approvals System — a national digital hosting platform designed to support the development of subsystems that digitise and automate licensing, approvals, and compliance processes across Government.
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It serves as the foundational layer for coordinated workflows, integration, and data exchange. (A foundation on which Govt systems can be built).
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As of now, FILPAS connects 16 agencies and will enable over 25 e-services, once the two Subsystems are complete.
Within FILPAS:
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SABS:
The Starting a Business Subsystem — launched in September 2024, this subsystem digitises all processes for starting a business. It integrates agencies including ROC, FRCS, FNPF, RBF, Investment Fiji, NFA, MHMS, OHS, and FNU. Over 4,500 accounts have already registered through SABS, with over 6000 processed applications. – (Satisfaction Rating is 65% but improving.)
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BPAS:
The Building Permit Approvals System — automates and digitises the full spectrum of approvals for building development (Permit to Build and Completion Certificate). It connects up to 8 agencies, including Local Councils, DTCP, MOE, FRA, WAF, OHS, NFA and EFL, and supports more than 12 distinct e-services, enabling real-time tracking and cross-agency coordination.
These subsystems once completed will significantly reduce delays, improve transparency, and offer a single, simple digital interface for both citizens and businesses.
These platforms have already reduced approval times from several months to weeks, and will soon move to real-time status updates.
Slide 9: MSMEs, Cooperatives, and the Human Side of Digitalisation
Fiji’s economy is powered by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Cooperatives. Together, they make up over 80% of all registered businesses — forming the foundation of local employment, grassroots innovation, and community (and economic) resilience.
That’s why digital transformation of MSMEs is a cornerstone of the National MSME Strategy. Digitalisation unlocks new opportunities by enabling:
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Access to finance through digital credit scoring, verifiable transaction histories, and digital intermediaries;
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Market visibility via e-commerce platforms, digital directories, and online branding;
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Customer and supplier connectivity across Fiji and into regional markets;
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Real-time decision-making with digital tools for inventory, cashflow, and sales analytics.