Caumatalevu, Na Taukei Bolatagane, Na Turaga na Tui Macuata, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere

Na Turaga na Tui Labasa, Ratu Jone Qomate,

President of the Labasa Chamber of Commerce& Industries, Mr Vinesh Dayal,

Investment Fiji Board Chair, Ms Jenny Seeto,

Investment Fiji Chief Executive Officer, Kamal Chetty,

Respective CEO’s, Farmers, Labasa Business Stakeholders, Speakers,

Sponsors and Media,

Bula Vinaka and a very warm welcome to the Agribusiness Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit 2025.

It is a distinct honour to welcome you all to this important gathering. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Labasa Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Investment Fiji for organising the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit 2025.

It is a privilege to be among the entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, development partners and visionaries not from Labasa but around Fiji and beyond.

This is not just a mere conference but an opportunity for possibilities, partnerships, and purpose.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This year’s summit comes at a pivotal time as our country is entering a new era of economic transformation.

With the theme: “Creating Agribusiness Opportunities in Vanua Levu” our focus needs to shift from recovery and move towards renewal.

We need to reimagine the Fijian economy for the future where innovation and entrepreneurship are no longer aspirations but a requirement.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Fiji is managing a robust portfolio of 195 active investment projects across the country. These projects are valued at over $5.5 billion and span the construction, pre-development and conceptual phases.

Of the 84 projects worth more than FJ $1.52 billion are currently under construction. This represents real progress and tangible evidence that investors see Fiji as a nation of opportunity, stability and growth.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

For a long time, other major towns and cities in Viti Levu continued to thrive. That is about to change as Labasa is witnessing a new era, marked by unprecedented developments, improving the services and facilities for the people in the region.

Labasa and the greater Northern Division have been underrepresented in conversations, but the North is now emerging as a dynamic, self-reliant, strategic hub.

The numbers back this up as well.

As of this year, there are more than 12 major investment projects either underway or in planning stages in Labasa and surrounding areas.  Combined, these investments represent over FJ$120 million in current and proposed capital.

Currently under construction is the Vualiku Hotel & Apartments, a project which will deliver 40 high-quality rooms to boost tourism and business travel in the North.

Another project, the Vinod Patel & Co. commercial complex, will bring enhanced retail capacity and local employment.

Vision Investments is developing the Courts Mega Labasa, a modern retail centre expected to open early next year.

We are not only seeing investment inconstruction, but also in essential infrastructure and logistics. In thepre-development pipeline is the Motibhai Group’s distribution centre in Labasawhich is a major investment in the North’s supply chain capacity.

Also planned is a new warehouse byHouyilin Wood in Dreketi and Savusavu, which will support growth in lightmanufacturing and logistics.

Looking even further ahead, we have a set of ambitious proposals under the conceptual stage that show strong investor confidence in Labasa’s long-term potential.

With RB Patel Pte Ltd commercial complex in Wailevu, project that will ease congestion in the town areas.

Jaduram Properties has signalled its intention to develop a commercial complex, while Carpenters Properties and Vision Investment, are already in construction of commercial buildings in Labasa town.

Fiji Water will move to Vanua Levu with new plans to diversify Fiji’s agriculture sector; the company had already identified land to start with the nursery for lime and mangoes.

Also, Aitken Spence had already visited Vanua Levu to inspect lands and sites for their operation.  

These are not just stand-alone projects but building blocks for a more resilient, connected, and vibrant economy in the North.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

All of these developments reinforce a central belief, that the Northern Division, and Labasa in particular, is ready.

Ready to become a regional economic centre. Ready to host investors. Ready to support MSMEs and Co-operatives.  

Labasa is ready to serve as a model for inclusive development that brings benefits to rural communities and urban centres alike.

These are physical signs of progress, but they are also platforms that can support and grow agribusiness.

The retail complexes need suppliers. The hotels need food and beverages. The warehouses need agricultural produce to store and distribute. There is a real opportunity here for farmers, processors, transporters, and entrepreneurs in Vanua Levu to tap directly into these emerging markets.

The decision to focus this year’s summit on agribusiness and on Vanua Levu is both strategic and long overdue.  Vanua Levu is not just a geographical region, but it is a region rich in land, rich in people, and rich in potential.

For decades, the North has provided food for our tables, timber for our buildings, and natural resources for our industries. Now, we are ready to move from being resource-rich to being opportunity-rich.  We are ready to shift from being producers to becoming innovators. And that shift begins with agribusiness.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Fiji Government is deeply committed to supporting this transformation.

We are strengthening the foundations of our economy through targeted reforms, digital infrastructure, trade facilitation, and MSME development.

In my capacity as Minister responsible for MSMEs, we continue to support MSMEs across the country through grant funding, capacity building, and access to finance programs.

Furthermore, the Ministry has embarked on a partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to establish an agribusiness incubation centre in Fiji, specifically to promote youth and women entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector.

The Government, under the leadership of the Honourable Prime Minister, is committed to ensuring that Vanua Levu is not left behind but rather, led forward.

We are streamlining land access, improving market linkages, and expanding technical support through our MSME development programmes. This is well – embedded in the MSME Strategic Plan which is being finalised. We will strategically address challenges that allow MSMEs and Co-operatives to contribute to the economy.

Our focus is clear: we want to grow an inclusive, resilient, and export-ready agribusiness sector in the North.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To become innovative in agribusiness we must find new ways of organising smallholders.

It means smarter finance. It means better packaging and branding. It means platforms where farmers can access markets directly.

That is what this Summit is about, where we bring together the minds and resources to create those systems right here in Vanua Levu.

Our farmers have been tilling the land for decades, this is their time.

The world is changing, and we are changing with it.

Your crops are no longer just subsistence; they are commodities, they are exports, they are the future of food systems in the Pacific.

To the young entrepreneurs in the room, I say this: don’t wait for the future, you need to build it.

Use the land, the knowledge, the tools available to you, and start small if you must.

To the private sector, I urge you to instead of Look North, Do North and Toso North

The potential here is enormous, the government is ready to support you, and the returns, be it economic, social, and environmental, can be significant.

To our development partners, we are grateful for your ongoing engagement, and we welcome your continued support in building agribusiness value chains that are inclusive and sustainable.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let this Summit become a movement to transform Vanua Levu through entrepreneurship, through agribusiness, and through collective ambition.

The government cannot act alone. We need investors, financiers, civil society, academia, and entrepreneurs to come together and build this new economy collaboratively.

That is why this Summit is more than an event, it is a platform to find new ideas and new opportunities.

I wish you all a successful and inspiring Agribusiness Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit 2025.

Vinaka Vakalevu

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