Fiji Pilot Tourism Micro and Small Enterprise Fund: Grants of FJD 15,000 to FJD 25,000 for Fijian Tourism Businesses
The Fiji Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation runs the Pilot Tourism Micro and Small Enterprise Fund. Micro businesses can receive up to FJD 15,000 and small businesses up to FJD 25,000, while the 2026–2027 budget provides FJD 500,000 in total fund support and applicants fund one-third of project cost.
If you run a tourism business in Fiji and you have been searching for a government grant, you have probably run into a lot of noise: recycled press releases, aggregator pages quoting figures nobody can source, and links that quietly redirect to commercial booking sites. This page has been rewritten to strip all of that out.
The programme covered by this listing is the Pilot Tourism Micro and Small Enterprise Fund, administered by the Fiji Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MTCA). It is modest, specific, and currently accepting online submissions through the Ministry’s live form. Everything below comes from MTCA’s own fund page, its posted policy, and its current budget announcement.
A correction worth reading first
An earlier version of this page described a “Fiji Climate Resilient Tourism Grant” offering FJD 1,200,000 per tourism operator or community partnership, with a fixed deadline. That programme does not exist.
The FJD 1.2 million figure appears to have been lifted from an unrelated MTCA announcement. On 19 June 2026, the Ministry announced that Fiji had launched the Nasaulevu Tourism Master Plan with an FJD 1.2 million Asian Development Bank grant. That money funds a single master-planning exercise for one destination. It is not a per-operator fund, it is not open to applications from resorts or dive shops, and no operator can apply for FJD 1.2 million from MTCA.
The old page also pointed readers at tourismfiji.com, which is not the grant application site. Tourism Fiji is the destination marketing organisation; it does not administer this fund. The grant-making body is MTCA, at mtca.gov.fj.
If you built plans around the million-dollar figure, this is the moment to rescale them. The real fund is useful, but it operates at a completely different order of magnitude.
What the Pilot Fund actually offers
MTCA established the Pilot Tourism Micro and Small Enterprise Fund to close a specific gap: Fijian tourism MSMEs generally lack the documented trading history and collateral that commercial lenders want, so they end up financing growth out of cash flow or not at all. The Ministry’s own policy notes that some data suggests up to 80 percent of the sector is made up of small enterprises.
The published grant ceilings are tied to your annual turnover. These per-application figures remain the figures in MTCA’s posted fund policy:
| Enterprise type | Annual turnover | Maximum grant per application | Beneficiaries planned | Budget allocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro | FJD 0 to 50,000 | FJD 15,000 | 10 | FJD 150,000 in the posted policy |
| Small | FJD 50,001 to 300,000 | FJD 25,000 | 10 | FJD 250,000 in the posted policy |
| Posted policy total | 20 | FJD 400,000 |
Read the labels in that table carefully. The FJD 400,000 total and twenty-beneficiary design belong to the policy posted on MTCA’s website. MTCA’s 13 July 2026 budget announcement says support for the Pilot Tourism MSME Fund has increased by 25 percent to FJD 500,000 for the 2026–2027 budget, creating further opportunities for small operators, family businesses, artisans, homestays, and community-based tourism enterprises. The budget announcement does not publish a revised split between micro and small awards, a revised beneficiary count, or a new per-applicant ceiling. Do not turn the FJD 500,000 total into a promise that every applicant can receive it; the individual caps remain the only published award limits.
The one-third rule
The Ministry funds up to two-thirds of your project cost. You must bring the remaining one-third in cash, either from your own resources or from a loan arranged with a financial institution, and you must document it to the Ministry’s satisfaction.
There is one stated flexibility: if you need a government contribution above two-thirds, you can request it with justification, and it must be approved by the Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Civil Aviation together with the Selection Panel, case by case. Treat that as an exception, not a planning assumption.
The practical consequence is straightforward. A small enterprise seeking the full FJD 25,000 needs to show roughly FJD 12,500 of its own cash against a total project of about FJD 37,500. A micro enterprise seeking FJD 15,000 needs about FJD 7,500 against a FJD 22,500 project. Sort your contribution out before you apply, not after you are shortlisted.
Who can apply
MTCA lists five eligibility requirements, and all of them are hard gates:
- You are a Fijian citizen aged 18 or above.
- Your enterprise is registered and has been operating for two years.
- The registered entity is majority Fijian owned — at least 51 percent.
- You are engaged in tourism, with the majority of your revenue coming from the sector. The policy names tour operators, activity providers, ground operators, hospitality, food and beverage, and transportation.
- You can meet the one-third cash contribution, with supporting documents.
There is a sixth constraint that sits in the exclusions rather than the eligibility list, and it catches people out: proposals from businesses with turnover above FJD 300,000 per year will not be considered. Combined with the turnover bands in the grant table, that means the fund is genuinely aimed at the small end of the sector. A mid-sized resort is outside it.
What the fund will pay for
Grants cover both capital purchases and operational items. MTCA’s published list includes:
- Improvement of products and experiences, including virtual, land and marine experiences
- Visibility and awareness work, such as a website upgrade
- Adoption of technology to improve the visitor experience
- Amenity enhancements such as visitor areas or signage
- Small-scale infrastructure such as trails and signage
- Equity funding arrangements with financial institutions for capital expenditure and diversification, subject to the institution’s own compliance requirements
For the pilot phase, the Ministry has flagged six categories of activity it particularly wants to see:
- Activities that promote culture and heritage
- Environmentally sustainable activities such as bird watching and trekking
- Accessibility improvements, such as trails and signage
- Upgrade and rejuvenation of heritage sites
- Niche markets including agritourism and wellness
- Natural parks such as forests and reef
If your proposal sits squarely in one of those six, say so explicitly and early in your business plan. The Ministry has also said it will prioritise projects that demonstrably contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, Fiji’s National Sustainable Tourism Framework 2024–2034, and the National Development Plan. Naming the specific NSTF goal your project serves costs you a sentence and reads as homework done.
What will not be funded
The exclusions list is unusually blunt, which is helpful. MTCA will not fund:
- Debt refinancing
- Non-enterprise activities
- Proposals from civil servants
- Businesses with turnover above FJD 300,000 per year
- Large-scale infrastructure such as roads, land preparation, evacuation centres or jetties (case by case, with exceptions for utilities upgrades)
- Costs of regulatory approvals from bodies such as the Rural Local Authority, the Department of Environment, the iTaukei Land Trust Board, the National Fire Authority, or the Ministry of Health and Medical Services
- High-risk equipment such as generic motor vehicles
- Anything non-compliant with Fijian law
- Activities unrelated to tourism development
- Projects lacking clear objectives or feasibility
- Projects that have received a government grant in the last three years, unless you can show the earlier grant was used for its stated purpose
Repeat applicants face an extra test: a proposal that looks like a rerun of a previously funded project, with no diversification or growth, will be set aside.
Documents you need to assemble
Have these ready before you open the application form. The list is identical on the fund page and in the policy:
- Completed application form
- Valid Business Registration Certificate
- Valid photo identification — driver’s licence, voter ID card, or passport biodata page
- Tax Identification Number (TIN)
- Management accounts covering at least two years of operation; micro and small enterprises may submit accounts prepared by a certified accountant
- A detailed business plan including three-year cash flow forecasts
- Support and validity letters from the relevant Ministry and stakeholders, if required
- Evidence of compliance with regulatory requirements for your business scope
- Membership or shareholder listing, if applicable
- Evidence of your one-third contribution
- Land lease, tenancy agreement, approved Department of Town and Country Planning documents, title, or other land documentation, where the proposal involves construction
The two items that most often delay applications are the two-year management accounts and the evidence of the one-third contribution. If your books have been informal, budget several weeks with an accountant. If your contribution depends on a loan, start the conversation with your bank now — a conditional letter of offer is worth far more than a verbal assurance.
How to apply
Applications are submitted through the online form linked from the fund page at mtca.gov.fj. The current MTCA page’s “apply online here” link opens a KoboToolbox form, so applicants should use that live route rather than a third-party listing or an old copy of the form.
If you cannot access the online portal, the posted policy allows you to download a printable application form from the Ministry’s website and email it to [email protected]. Its fallback subject line is “Pilot Tourism MSME Fund Application 2025/2026 (Insert Name)”. Because that wording belongs to the posted policy rather than a newly announced cycle notice, ask MTCA to confirm the current cycle label before sending an emailed application.
The Ministry advertises Expressions of Interest through local newspapers, the MTCA website, Government Divisional Offices, community visits through the Roko Tui Saravanua, and social media. If you are not near Suva, the divisional office route is the one to watch.
Assessment: what happens after you submit
MTCA acts as the secretariat. The process runs in two phases:
- Assessment and evaluation. Applications are scored against the published criteria. You must meet 50 percent of the assessment criteria to advance.
- Site inspection. Shortlisted applicants receive a visit, and the Ministry or its partners complete a site visitation template.
Recommendations then go to a Selection Panel chaired by the Permanent Secretary, made up of representatives from the Ministry, statutory agencies and the private sector. Final clearance sits with the Permanent Secretary. Successful applicants sign a Memorandum of Agreement setting out terms and conditions, followed by an official handover.
The Ministry has said it will only contact promising and shortlisted applicants for further information. Silence is not necessarily rejection, but it is not encouragement either.
Grant conditions run well past the cheque. Recipients must keep proper accounts and retain records for seven years after the agreement ends, submit audited financial accounts annually where applicable, maintain appropriate insurance, complete any training courses the Ministry assigns, and keep grant-funded goods in good condition for five years without selling, mortgaging, transferring or leasing them without written government consent. Changing a vendor or a procured item requires written notice and may need a Deed of Variation. Failure to perform can mean refunding the grant or the Ministry physically retrieving the item.
Deadlines: what is and is not published
MTCA publishes no closing date for the current online window. The current fund page still tells applicants to apply online, and its linked KoboToolbox form is live. Neither that page nor the posted policy names a current application deadline. The policy instead describes Expressions of Interest as being advertised through the MTCA website, local newspapers, Government Divisional Offices, community visits, and social media. Because the official application route is available without a published cutoff, this page records the deadline as rolling. A rolling listing does not guarantee that places remain available indefinitely; contact MTCA before submitting if your project depends on a particular budget year or if the form stops accepting responses.
The official sources establish the following programme history and current status:
- Cabinet decision date: 18 June 2024
- Effective date: 4 December 2024
- Amendment date: 23 June 2025
- 2026–2027 budget announcement: 13 July 2026, when MTCA said support for the Pilot Tourism MSME Fund had increased by 25 percent to FJD 500,000.
The email subject line in the posted policy refers to the 2025/2026 application cycle, but the live MTCA page and the 2026–2027 budget announcement show that the fund has not simply disappeared after that policy cycle. MTCA has not published a revised policy with a new closing date or a new per-applicant ceiling, so this page reports only what the official sources support: the current online form is available, the total budget support has increased to FJD 500,000, and no fixed deadline is published.
About climate and resilience funding
Because this page previously described a climate resilience fund, it is worth being clear about where climate work does and does not fit.
The Pilot Fund is not a climate adaptation programme. It will fund environmentally sustainable tourism activities — bird watching, trekking, reef and forest experiences, heritage site work — and a project with a genuine sustainability angle fits the pilot’s stated priorities well. What it will not do is finance cyclone-hardening a resort, installing a solar microgrid at scale, or funding reef restoration as infrastructure. Those sit outside both the eligible-proposal list and the FJD 25,000 ceiling.
Separately, MTCA has an institutional partnership with UNDP on strengthening tourism resilience to climate and disaster risk. That is a government-to-agency programme, not a grant window operators can apply to. If someone tells you otherwise, ask them for the application link.
Contacts
- General enquiries and printable application form: [email protected], +679 892 6220
- Appeals and grievances: Director of Tourism, [email protected], +679 331 5577
- Office: Level 4, Civic Tower, Victoria Parade, Suva
- Fund page and policy document: https://mtca.gov.fj/2509-2/
If an application is rejected and you believe the decision was unfair, the policy sets out a formal appeal route: try to resolve it informally with the secretariat first, then submit a written appeal with supporting evidence to the Director of Tourism. MTCA aims to resolve grievances within 14 to 30 days depending on complexity.
Getting started
Work in this order and you will save yourself a rewrite:
- Check the hard gates. Fijian citizen, 18+, registered two years, 51 percent Fijian ownership, majority tourism revenue, turnover at or under FJD 300,000. Any failure here ends the process.
- Size the project against the ceiling. Decide whether you sit in the micro or small band, then design a project whose total cost is roughly 1.5 times the grant you want.
- Lock in your one-third. Bank letter, savings statement, or financier commitment. Get it in writing.
- Get two years of accounts in order. Certified accountant, clean statements.
- Write the business plan with three-year cash flows. Say plainly which of the six priority activity categories you fall into and which National Sustainable Tourism Framework goal you advance.
- Confirm the window is open for your project. The online form is currently linked from the official page, but email [email protected] before you submit if you need confirmation of the applicable budget year, current available allocation, or emailed-submission instructions.
It is FJD 15,000 or FJD 25,000, not FJD 1.2 million. For a village-run trekking operation, a family food and beverage business, or a small ground operator trying to build a proper booking site, that is still a meaningful amount of capital on terms no commercial lender will match.