The 600 participating artisans at the 2015 National Women’s Expo generated more than $300,000 in sales in just two days, announced the Attorney-General and Minister for Finance Hon. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum closed the Expo Friday, describing the event as an exemplary platform for enhancing economic opportunities for women artisans and applauding the artisans for their financial success.
“Now, if that can happen at the Expo, imagine the opportunities we have to connect you to the people who can buy your products. There are wonderful artisans in Fiji. One of the reasons we started the Fijian Made Fijian crafted campaign is that we wanted people to keep their indigenous skills and pass them on to younger generations,” the AG said.
The Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Hon. Rosy Akbar, emphasized the importance of women in the Fijian economy, in their families and in their communities and assured participants of the continued support of the Fijian Government.
“The Fijian Government has continued to support women through income-generating projects, the adoption of Zero-Tolerance Violence-Free communities and awareness on various topics ranging from gender issues to entrepreneurship. The Department of Women will continue to deliver its promise of connecting women to markets,” Minister Akbar said.
The 600 women artisans are the champions of the Divisional Mini Expos staged throughout all four divisions earlier this year. Additionally, 43 women artisans were awarded Fijian Crafted Certificates by the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Hon. Faiyaz Siddiq Koya, during the Expo this week.
The National Women’s Expo 2015 was held at Vodafone Arena in Suva from Wednesday 14th to Friday 16th October. The event was organised by the Ministry of Women with a funding of $500,000 allocated by the Fijian Government.
The first two days of the expo generated a total of $334,619.60. The figures for the final day’s sales will be published Monday.
DEPTFO