Once upon a Fijian business woman
Once Upon A Fijian Business Woman
How can a businesswoman succeed in Fiji’s patriarchal society? Mere Samisoni, the entrepreneur behind ‘Hot bread Kitchen’ gave us an appropriate answer when she said ‘I roll with it’, although the pun was probably unintentional. In fact, it is difficult to imagine this dynamic lady being pushed around. Anybody who manages to build up a chain of bakeries from scratch, capturing 35% of the country’s urban consumer market in the process, must have a lot of determination. At the same time, Mrs Samisoni displays a strong sense of social commitment.
She believes in community values, advocates group decision-making and consensus, and even describes the tax system as ‘reasonably fair’. In short, she contradicts the widely-held view propagated by lurid American TV series, that a dog-eat-dog attitude is needed for business success.
More on: http://fijianbusinesswomen.tumblr.com/women Published in the Nigerian Observer