The State of AI in Fiji: 2026 & Beyond

By Asta Sonner Founder & CEO, Limitless Marketing PTE Limited | Director of Communications, Chatbot Builder AI & PayMeGPT | Creator of Avaia, Fiji's First AI Chatbot

On February 10, 2026, I sat on a panel alongside Fiji's Online Safety Commissioner and the Police CID Director at the World Safer Internet Day event in Nadi. The topic was responsible AI use. The room was filled with policymakers, educators, and law enforcement, people whose decisions shape Fiji's digital future.

The fact that I was the only AI practitioner on that panel tells you something important about where Fiji stands right now: we are at a turning point, and the people building with AI in this country can still be counted on one hand.

That needs to change.

Where Fiji Stands Today

Fiji is not starting from zero. The government released its National Digital Strategy 2025 to 2030, which lays out a clear, year by year roadmap for digital transformation. Internet access already reaches over 85% of the population. 4G covers 92% of the country. 86% of Fijians aged 18 and above are active on social media.

The infrastructure is there. What is still developing is the AI layer on top of it.

In September 2024, KPMG opened its AI Hub at Garden City in Suva with the Deputy Prime Minister in attendance, promising 40 new jobs and AI tool development across health, finance, and education. China donated an AI lab to Yat Sen Secondary School. The Fiji Development Bank deployed its first AI powered customer service tools. And the government has committed to developing a national AI framework by 2027.

These are real moves. But they are institutional moves. Top down, corporate backed, slow by design.

What Fiji also needs is bottom up AI adoption. Small businesses using chatbots to serve customers at midnight. Farmers using AI tools to plan planting cycles. Tourism operators automating their booking and inquiry systems. Students learning not just about AI, but how to build with it.

That is the gap. And that is the opportunity.

Who Is Building AI in Fiji Right Now?

If you search for AI companies in Fiji, you will find a lot of empty websites and recycled blog content from overseas platforms listing companies that do not actually exist. I know, because I have checked.

Here is the honest picture:

KPMG AI Hub is the largest institutional player with 40 staff, global resources, and an enterprise focus. They serve large organisations and government. For small businesses, they are out of reach and out of scope.

Fiji Development Bank deployed AI through ThirdRoc for customer service automation, one of the first real AI implementations in Fiji's financial sector.

Limitless Marketing, the company I founded, has been operating in the AI space since I built [Avaia](/avaia), Fiji's first AI powered customer service chatbot. I have worked with businesses across Fiji and internationally on [AI chatbot development](/services/ai-chatbots), [automation](/services/ai-automation), and digital strategy. Through my role as Director of Communications at Chatbot Builder AI and PayMeGPT, I also bring global AI product experience back to the Pacific.

Beyond these, there are a few regional players beginning to look at the Pacific, consultancies based in the Cook Islands and New Zealand offering AI automation services. They are legitimate operations, and their interest in the region is a healthy sign. More competition means more awareness, more adoption, and more opportunities for everyone.

But the reality remains: Fiji's AI ecosystem is still small enough that anyone with genuine skills and intent can make a significant impact.

What Fiji Businesses Actually Need

I have worked with businesses in Fiji from farm equipment companies to tourism operators to retail brands. Here is what I have learned about what the market actually needs:

Education before implementation. Most business owners in Fiji have heard of AI but do not understand what it can do for them specifically. The first conversation is never about tools. It is about possibility.

Practical, affordable solutions. A Suva shop owner does not need a $50,000 enterprise AI audit. They need a chatbot that answers customer inquiries on Facebook Messenger at 11pm when they are asleep. They need automated appointment booking. They need AI assisted social media content. These are real problems with existing solutions that cost a fraction of what enterprise consulting charges. You can [learn more about AI](/learn-ai) and what it can do for businesses of any size.

Local context and trust. AI adoption in Fiji will not be driven by overseas consultants flying in for a two week engagement. It will be driven by people who understand how business works here, the culture, the communication styles, the realities of operating in a Pacific Island economy. People who answer the phone in Fiji time, not New York time.

Safety and governance awareness. As AI becomes more capable, the conversation around responsible use becomes critical. My participation in the Safer Internet Day panel was not just about visibility. It was about ensuring that the people shaping AI policy in Fiji hear from someone who actually builds these systems, not just those who regulate or fear them.

The Road Ahead: 2026 to 2030

Fiji's National Digital Strategy targets a formal AI framework by 2027. That gives us roughly 18 months to shape what that framework looks like in practice, not just in policy documents, but in real business adoption, workforce development, and public understanding.

Here is what I believe needs to happen:

AI literacy must be treated as essential as digital literacy. The strategy already includes digital literacy curriculum development for all education levels. AI should be woven into that from the start, not bolted on later.

Small business AI adoption needs champions, not just consultants. Every successful AI implementation in a Fiji SME becomes a case study that convinces ten more businesses to try. We need more people building, more people sharing results, and more people willing to teach.

The Pacific needs its own voice in the global AI conversation. We cannot afford to simply import AI frameworks designed for Silicon Valley or Singapore. Fiji has unique needs, our languages, our cultural contexts, our economic structures. The people building AI here need to be part of the conversation about how it is governed.

Collaboration over competition. Fiji's AI ecosystem is too small and too early stage for territorial behaviour. Every person and organisation genuinely working to advance AI adoption in the Pacific is an ally. KPMG's institutional approach, regional consultancies, independent builders like myself, we all serve different segments. The rising tide lifts all boats.

A Personal Note

I taught myself to code in internet cafes. I built Fiji's first AI chatbot from a laptop with inconsistent Wi-Fi. I have spent the last four years proving that world class AI work can happen from Suva, not just San Francisco.

I write this not to claim a title, but to extend an invitation. If you are a business owner curious about AI, [reach out](/contact). If you are a student wanting to learn, start building. If you are a policymaker crafting Fiji's AI future, include the people who are actually building with these tools every day. You can read more about [my journey](/about-asta-sonner) and how I got here.

Fiji has always been resilient, resourceful, and willing to adapt. AI is just the next chapter. And we are better positioned than most people realise.

The question is not whether AI will transform Fiji. It is whether we will be the ones shaping that transformation, or whether we will wait for someone else to do it for us.

I know which side I am on.

Vinaka.