The Department of Cooperative Business, Fiji is a government entity under the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism. DCB became a member of ICA in 2019. The department is responsible for formulating and implementing policies and strategies to facilitate the promotion, establishment and monitoring of cooperative businesses in Fiji. Its other key role is to provide trainings and capacity-building to cooperative members and officials. The Department creates awareness around cooperatives, registers and supervises them, and monitors them to ensure their smooth operation. The awareness drives focus on cooperatives at the global scale, cooperatives in Fiji, features of cooperatives, membership/rights and responsibilities of members in cooperatives, auditing/other provisions, and the registration process for cooperatives.

Annually at least 50 direct jobs are created through cooperative development by the Department. The Department has been focussing on resource- based cooperatives as this encourages the communities to fully utilise their natural resources. It has registered 157 new cooperatives in the last 5 years . The diversification and revival of cooperatives is also a core activity of the Department. The approach taken by the Department is to identify cooperatives that are progressing well and encourage these cooperatives to pursue diversification. Diversification will allow them to extend their operations or venture into new businesses with growth potential.

The Department is looking at increasing employment and entrepreneurship through cooperatives. Specifically its strategic priority is improving livelihoods through cooperatives, young entrepreneurs and micro and small enterprises. This strategic priority is linked to the Fijian Government’s National Development Plan and also complements Sustainable Development Goals No. 1- No Poverty and No. 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth.

Contact Information:

Website: https://mitt.gov.fj/