Background
The Market Development Facility (MDF) is a multi-country Australian Government funded initiative, with locations in Fiji, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu. MDF aims to stimulate economic growth to create improved employment and income earning opportunities for the poor by making selected sectors of the economy more competitive and stimulating business innovation. MDF is implemented by the Palladium Group and Swisscontact and started operations in Fiji in July 2011.
Investment Fiji (IF) is the official Investment Promotion Agency of the Fijian Government and focuses on attracting foreign direct investment into Fiji. The two key aims of Investment Fiji are (1) To increase the success of Fijian businesses globally and (2) To match high value capital investment with Fijian businesses and opportunities.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between MDF and Investment Fiji on 12th February 2021 to further strengthen collaboration efforts to support Investment Fiji’s capacity to promote foreign investment into Fiji and Fijian exports globally. MDF and Investment Fiji are now seeking a suitable service provider to develop an investment prospectus for Fiji’s mahogany sector. The investment prospectus will be a key document to enable Investment Fiji to effectively market Fiji’s mahogany industry and potential to foreign investors.
Mahogany was one of Fiji’s first forest plantation crops that was introduced in the 1960s and is grown in the Central/Eastern areas of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, covering approximately 50,000 hectares. These plantations are managed by Government’s commercial company, Fiji Mahogany Corporation Limited (FHCL) and sit on “iTaukei” (indigenous) land, with around 200 “Mataqali” (clans) involved in the industry as landowners.