When he turned 18, Pravinesh Raju’s dream was to return to place of birth, Fiji, and invest so that he could help the locals.

23 years later, that dream became a reality when he opened a shopping centre last Friday at Nukuloa, Ba.

Mr Raju invested $300,000 in Nukuloa Takolavo Supermarket and Liquor thanks to the support of his wife, Pritika, and their children Pranav, Prinesh and Isha.

The shopping centre employs eight people from the nearby communities.

In 1997, a young Mr Raju migrated with his family to Sydney, Australia and over the years he frequently visited family and friends.

Background
In Australia, Mr Raju is the director of a transportation business in Australia, Kris Transport Pty Ltd.

He has been operating in Sydney and Brisbane for the past 17 years.

“It was always my dream when I was 18-years-old to come back to Fiji and invest here,” he said.

“It was also my plan to retire in Fiji, I want to retire here and support the locals.”

“My wife lives in Moto, Ba, and I would always speak to her to open up a supermarket in Ba to help the locals and we found the opportunity to open up this supermarket in Nukuloa.”

“I see a lot of poor people and I always want to help them out.”

The development of the supermarket began in 2018 but because of the COVID-19 pandemic the process to reach the full completion of the supermarket was slow.

He said the supermarket business would be passed on to his youngest son.

He reiterated that there were plans in the pipeline to open up more shopping centres to assist the locals with Nadi as the next market.

Mr Raju added that it was the constant support from his parents, Vijendra Raju and Puspa Wati, who he said pushed him to achieve his goal.

His message to youths: “Work hard, do not stop dreaming.”

“Trust me, I have been through a lot and I always stayed focused on my dream and I finally got to see that dream.”

Feedback: nicolette.chambers@fijisun.com.fj