A two-day Holiday Market Festival starting today in Nuku'alofa, showcased fine handicraft products by Tonga Development Bank's customers in a Microfinance Scheme.

Selling mats, ta’ovala (waist mats), kiekie, carvings, pearls and other products were groups from Vava'u, 'Eua, Ha'apai and rural villages in Tongatapu.

Leta Kami, TDB CEO said the festival now in its sixth year, is a marketing component of the Asian Development Bank’s Microfinance Revolving Fund under the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction.

The Ministry of Finance is the supervising agency and TDB as implementing agency. 

“We have loan funds of about $400,000 pa’anga, which we lend out and the marketing component is this festival, to strengthen the revolving loan concept because we are targeting those disadvantaged in the outer islands and rural areas.”

This event has brought together a total of 52 customers, 25 from Vava’u, ‘Eua and Ha’apai and 27 from rural villages in Tongatapu to sell their products.

These are people facing hardship by being far from the market and most of them are women who have laboured hard during the year. This festival allows them to sell and raise funds to repay their loans either partially or in full and make extra spending money for their families for Christmas, she said.

Alleviate poverty

Japanese Ambassador, HE Mr Tetsuya Ishii was pleased to see that many recipients of this Microfinance Revolving Fund were from the grassroots level and also the outer islands; most importantly, were women, who are actively using these funds for entrepreneurship purposes, in terms of handicrafts development and other initiatives, below the National Poverty Line in 2015.

This scheme aims to alleviate poverty and widen economic and social opportunities through income generating activities for each community.

In addition, this project portrays what can be achieved when all sectors cooperate, such as the collaboration between the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction Grant Assistance Project, the Asian Development Bank, the Tonga Development Bank and the Government of Tonga, he said.