The New Zealand government has contributed $6.9 million to help businesses in the Pacific recover from the pandemic.
The skyline of Fiji's capital, Suva. Photo: RNZ / Jamie Tahana
Border closures and a loss of trade routes has left many countries struggling, with a recent survey finding just under 50 percent of small to medium businesses in the Pacific have closed or expect to close.
The funding will go towards a service run by Business Link Pacific, which will offer concessionary loans and adaptation grants.
Its chief executive, Steve Knapp, said they'll be sent out in two phases, starting with the grants.
That should get them started on the way to looking at how the business can recover, adapt to a post-Covid environment and then seeing how then seeing how those grants from them lead into to some concessional lending to get those businesses back on the road to recovery," he said.
The first round of grants will be decided in January.