Small businesses are essential in alleviating poverty and creating jobs in most developing economies. This is
especially true for the small South Pacific Island nations. The truth is that very little is known about micro and small
enterprise growth in the South Pacific island nations. This exploratory study examines the most pressing challenges
faced by small business owners in Fiji. A survey approach was deployed in collecting data from 164 owners for this
study. Discussion of key findings centres around four types of factors: (1) individual entrepreneur characteristics; (2)
firm characteristics; (3) challenges in procuring business services; and (4) challenges in securing financing. The
findings revealed that the lack of access to business advisory services and capital were the foremost hurdles faced by
owners. They seem lack of imagination and were unaware of opportunities in other sectors like manufacturing or
cottage industries. The Fijian government?s small business advisory and micro finance service was poorly accessed
with more than half the owners unaware of this service. Others are unable to afford professional business and finance
advice. The study is especially useful to the government policy makers as it brings into focus the most pressing issues
that need to be addressed to nurture and grow small businesses.
Keywords: small businesses, micro businesses, grey market, micro finance, South Pacific.