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Author: Leslie Omaro

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Media Releases

CEFI and Nasfund sign MoU to enhance superannuation awareness with CEFI’s financial inclusion activities

Joint Media Release

For Immediate Release

Friday June 21, 2024

 

The National Superannuation Fund (Nafsund) Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI) on June 21, 2024.

This MoU is a three year partnership between Nasfund and CEFI that enables both organizations to work together in enhancing superannuation awareness with CEFI’s Financial Inclusion Activities.

CEFI’s collaboration with Nasfund is important as this will advance superannuation awareness within CEFI’s Financial Literacy Training Program and assist CEFI also in incorporating superannuation into schools curriculum activities plus supporting Provincial Government Engagement Programs.The main activities during the three year partnership will include;

 

  • Advancing superannuation awareness within CEFI’s Financial Literacy Training Program by jointly producing 3-5 minutes financial literacy and superannuation videos for awareness purposes to promote financial inclusion in Papua New Guinea
  • Assist CEFI with the integration of superannuation into Financial Education for schools Curriculum Project through the department of Education, Curriculum Development Division.
  • And support CEFI by participating in the Provincial Government Engagement Program involving conducting awareness behind the rationale of superannuation to the Provincial Steering Committee Members and collaboratively organizing Savings for Young Mind campaigns via superannuation across designated schools in the provinces.

 

CEFI’s Executive Director Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe when commenting on the MoU stated that the partnership between the two organizations is important as it highlights their commitment to expand financial inclusion awareness in Papua New Guinea.

Mr. Ranasinghe further elaborated that CEFI through this partnership with Nasfund will now be able to offer Papua New Guineans financial literacy and superannuation awareness   through the activities outlined in the MoU.

“Financial literacy education plays a very important role as it’s brings new knowledge and changes people’s attitude.”

“We hope that this initiative will change the lives of Papua New Guineans to have a better understanding of superannuation and the importance of savings,” Mr. Ranasinghe said.

 

Nasfund CEO Rajeev Sharma said “Nasfund is proud to announce a series of strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing superannuation education and financial literacy among Papua New Guineans. As part of its commitment to fostering a culture of savings and retirement planning, Nasfund is rolling out three key programs: the School Superannuation Program, the Superannuation Literacy Program, and the long-standing Shopfloor Program.”

Nasfund’s strategic Key Performance Indicators prioritizes superannuation education and inclusion, focusing on the youth through the School Superannuation Program. This initiative targets school children and young people, educating them on the importance of saving and retirement planning from an early age. With the backdrop of high inflation and increasing life expectancy, instilling a savings culture among the youth is critical for ensuring a secure financial future.

Complementing the School Superannuation Program, Nasfund runs the Superannuation Literacy Program for its members and prospective members. This program is designed to deepen understanding of superannuation, providing guidance on effective budgeting and the benefits of maximizing voluntary contributions. “Developed with insights from staff training at the Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI) in 2022, the program integrates comprehensive modules on savings and budgeting, ensuring that participants are well-equipped to boost their superannuation, “said CEO Sharma.

For over 20 years, Nasfund has been actively engaging with its members and contributing employers through the Shopfloor Program. This program involves regular visits to workplaces, creating awareness about superannuation and Nasfund’s range of products and services. The continuous engagement through the Shopfloor Program underscores Nasfund’s dedication to ensuring that its members are well-informed about their retirement options.

At the core of Nasfund’s initiative is the belief that information is crucial. By educating its members today, Nasfund aims to ensure they are “Ready for Tomorrow” with a well-secured retirement. Through its comprehensive educational programs, Nasfund is empowering members with the knowledge and tools necessary to make informed decisions about their financial future.

 

Ends.

 

For further information on the work of CEFI please contact CEFI Communications Team: +675 3225300, email: lomaro@thecefi.org  or visit www.thecefi.org

 

Image Captions:
Photo 1 – CEFI Executive Director Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe (left) and Nasfund CEO Mr. Rajeev Sharma signing the MoU documents. Witnessing the signing is Nasfund’s Chief Finance Officer Debbie Oli (sitting right) and CEFI’s NFIS Cordination and Stakeholder Manager Mr. Danny Koka (sitting left.)
Photo 2 –  CEFI Executive Director Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe (left) and Nasfund CEO Mr. Rajeev Sharma showing signed  MoU documents. Witnessing the signing is Nasfund’s Chief Finance Officer Debbie Oli (standing right) and CEFI’s NFIS Coordination and Stakeholder Manager Mr. Danny Koka (standing left.)
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News Article

Government Engagement: The Next Chapter in PNG’s Financial Inclusion Story

On April 25, 2023, the Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI) and the Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2023-2027 (NFIS). The strategy is the third installment after the National Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy Strategy 2014-2015 and the National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2016-2020. The two earlier strategies primarily focused on reducing the huge financial exclusion level in Papua New Guinea (PNG), that was at one stage considered to be one of the highest in the South Pacific region and the world. Fortunately, this level has seen a sizeable reduction to somewhere between 75 to 80% thanks to the ongoing efforts and leadership of BPNG and CEFI. Since the introduction of the first strategy in 2014 until the fourth quarter of 2023, 4 million bank deposit accounts have been opened. Within this same period 16,094 access points (ATMs, EFTPOS, bank branches and bank agents) have been established. Transactions using mobile phone banking and other digital platforms have also seen a substantial increase, as depicted by the total number of mobile financial services accounts in the table below showing the Financial Inclusion Data for 2023.

These are impressive numbers no doubt. However, the battle is far from over as a good chunk of PNG’s population is still financially excluded.

The new strategy aims to use these earlier successes as a stepping stone to make further strides to expand financial inclusion in the country. Similar to its predecessors, the new strategy recognizes the important role of financial institutions. The signing of the Institutional Commitment of Measurable Inclusion Targets (I-COMMIT) agreement by the heads of the various commercial banks, microbanks, and savings and loans societies with the BPNG Governor, signifies this. Besides the financial institutions, the successes of the two previous strategies also demonstrated the important role of the government in driving the financial inclusion agenda. For instance, BPNG-led initiatives such as the Financial Inclusion Exposition and the Young Minds Savings Campaign, including research and reform, paved the way for the financial inclusion agenda to have wider recognition. Events such as the Financial Inclusion Exposition and Young Minds Savings Campaign brought the public, school kids, and the banks together to exchange information and ideas. Some of these initiatives were groundbreaking in their own right despite very little to no government support. Nonetheless, for these initiatives to deepen financial inclusion and widen its impact, focus should now turn to provinces and districts where the bulk of the people are said to be “financially excluded.” To reach these people, it is impossible for financial institutions, BPNG, and CEFI to do it alone. They need the government to come on board and provide the enabling infrastructure and socio-economic environment. This is the challenge facing the current strategy.

Source: 2023 Access & Usage Points (CEFI, 2024), https://www.thecefi.org/fi-data-quarterly-reports-2/.

Once the government is on board, initiatives such as the financial inclusion expos and the young minds savings campaigns can be spearheaded by the government, preferably at the sub-national level. Thus, these activities can be featured on the government workplan and budget. The message here is that financial inclusion should not be an agenda exclusively left to BPNG, CEFI, or banks for that matter, to address. Rather, it needs to be embraced by the entire government machinery given that it is a cross-cutting issue that underpins the modern economy that PNG aspires to become.

As the lead implementing agency of the NFIS in PNG, CEFI has already embarked on forging partnerships with provincial governments via its Provincial Government Engagement program. The program will be implemented through a three-phased approach. The first phase will be mainly focused on advocacy and awareness raising where the main outcome will be the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between CEFI and the provincial government. The second phase will be primarily focused on implementing key programs and activities to promote financial inclusion. Key activities include the rollout of financial literacy trainings, financial inclusion expositions, young minds savings campaigns, carrying out relevant surveys, account opening, onboarding of bank agents, set-up of ATMs and EFTPOS, and the digitization of the payment system to assist with the effective delivery of services. The last phase is where evaluation and impact assessment will be carried out to assess the impact of these interventions.

The program is still in its infancy stage, but some good progress has already been made. CEFI has signed MOUs with West New Britain Province (WNB), East New Britain Province (ENB), Milne Bay Province, Western Highlands Province, New Ireland Province, and Kerema, which has become the first district in the country. Of the five provinces, WNB and Milne Bay are leading the way. They are followed closely by ENB. For these provinces, progress has been made in setting up a provincial steering committee to guide and provide oversight on the rollout of financial inclusion initiatives in their provinces. The committees in these three provinces are chaired by deputy provincial administrators. At the technical level, the respective commerce division has appointed an officer to act as a focal point to coordinate financial inclusion activities in the province. With these mechanisms in place, several financial literacy trainings have already been conducted for both trainers and the community at large. In the case of ENB, almost all the districts in the provinces have had financial literacy trainings conducted. The next step will be to undertake regular monitoring and impact assessments to measure the impact of these trainings in the communities. Seeing the importance of this program, WNB Provincial Government has already extended its partnership by another three years while Milne Bay Provincial Government is working towards renewing its partnership. To recognize provincial governments who have been championing financial inclusion initiatives in their province, CEFI and BPNG plans to award the best performing province under its Financial Inclusion Excellence Awards. These awards are expected to be unveiled this year during the inaugural Annual Dialogue Forum to be hosted by CEFI.

Looking ahead, CEFI plans to sign on more provinces until the whole of Papua New Guinea is covered. While this is a must and a commendable goal, achieving it will require not just the banks and development partners, but essentially national and sub-national government to work with CEFI and the Bank of Papua New Guinea. After all, expanding financial inclusion to all the provinces and districts is fulfilling the nation’s Vision 2050.

Article by Busa Jeremiah Wenogo

Mr. Wenogo is a development economist whose interest covers informal economy, SME, and financial inclusion. He is employed by the Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI) as the manager in charge of its Special Projects Unit. The Unit is taking the lead in advancing partnership between CEFI and the provincial government and district authorities. Prior to this, for almost a decade, he was at the forefront of policy and legislative work around the informal economy in PNG while working with the PNG Consultative Implementation & Monitoring Council.

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News Article

CEFI partner’s with Aflatoun to deliver financial education for school children in Papua New Guinea

The Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI) has partnered with Aflatoun International to deliver financial education for children and young people in Papua New Guinea.

Both CEFI and Aflatoun signed a virtual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday May 14 which will see both organization working together in partnership to achieve the objectives and goals of the MoU.

Aflatoun an international organization works with a strong network of Non-Government Organization and governments to deliver social and financial education to millions of children and youths in the most effective way possible around the world.

Executive Director Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe when giving a brief back ground on CEFI told Aflatoun CEO Mr. Roeland Monasch that financial literacy has been a forefront of CEFI’s activities as it was an entry point for financial inclusion in the country.

Mr. Ranasinghe further stated that CEFI has reached over 250,000 people in the country with its Financial Literacy Training  and Training of Trainers programs and the results has seen over a thousand certified trainers specialized in training financial literacy training or adult training.

He said CEFI’s recent partnership with the Department of Education to introduce financial education into school curriculum will further strengthen the partnership with Aflatoun to deliver financial education for children in PNG schools.

Mr. Ranasinghe also announced that CEFI’s Financial Inclusion and Capacity Development Manager, Jill Pijui and three officers from the Department of Education will attend Aflatoun’s annual conference on financial education in Cebu, Philippines later this year.

CEO Mr. Roeland Monasch said Aflatoun was thrilled to work with CEFI to assist and facilitate the delivering of financial education in the country.

“I’m very excited to discuss and sign this partnership with you today (Tuesday May 14). At Aflatoun we strongly believe that children, young people and youths need to learn about finance as soon as possible,” Mr. Monasch said.

“We like the approach to work with you in a way where we can assist, facilitate, but you (CEFI) are in the driver’s seat, that’s very important.”Mr. Monasch stressed.

“We provide content and help local contextualization, but it’s the organizations on the ground who know what’s needed, who know what is appropriate, who need to take the lead and are in the driving seat to  facilitate, that financial education should facilitate towards financial inclusion,” he added.

The overall goal of the MoU is to build a collaboration between CEFI and Aflatoun International which both parties agree to;

  • Rely on the mutual desire to apply the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of Child
  • Work together to advocate for the need of social and financial education for children and young people
  • Collaborate to develop social and financial education for children and young people in Papua New Guinea

 

To ensure the achievement of the goals, the parties agree to join forces in the following areas.

  • Supporting the development of a social and financial education programme for children and young people in Papua New Guinea
  • Exchanging of educational materials on Social and Financial Education as well as contacts
  • Planning for concrete collaboration and activities on the basis of an annual action plan agreed upon by both parties
  • Developing (contextualized) curricular and methodological content for Social and Financial Education based on Aflatoun International curricula
  • Training of trainers and educational pedagogical workers
  • Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of social and financial education of children and young people
  • Cooperate in exchanging and promoting best practices and experiences in the field of social and financial education

 

Photo caption: CEFI Executive Director signing the MoU document during the brief virtual signing ceremony with Aflatoun CEO Mr. Roeland Monasch.

 

Categories
Impact Stories

Trainers determined to educate their communities to be financially independent

Improving the way people manage their finances has persuaded two financial literacy mentor’s to brush up their Trainer skills and help their respective communities become financially independent and educated.

Leo Kaptigau who runs a local consultancy firm called ‘Strategy 4 Growth’ and Margaret Vakuru, owner of Oort Finance are two different people with different backgrounds but they have the same goal to educate and train Papua New Guinean’s to be financial inclusive and literate.

The pair were among 17 participants including 11 women, who undertook second EOI ToT training from May 06-10 at the CEFI Head Office.

The 17 participant’s also successfully completed the training and received certificates certifying them to be Trainers in Financial Literacy.

CEFI’s Executive Director Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe in his congratulatory remarks during the certificate presentation, to the trainees urged them to be role models, set a good example and go back to their respective communities and pass on the knowledge acquired during their training.

Deputy Executive Directror Mr. Peter Samuel encouraged the trainers to be the eyes and ears representing CEFI on the ground and continue put into practice the lessons learned through the training.

Margaret Vakuru who is based out of Kiunga, in Western province, where majority of the people’s livelihood depends on royalty payments from the giant Ok Tedi Mine, says the local people need financial rescuing and that will be in the form of financial literacy training which she is determined to deliver.

“Back in the community that I come from, we have people that have been really dependent on Ok Tedi Mine CMCA (Community Mine Continuation Agreement) payouts and have been receiving these payouts for the last 30 years of the mines operation,” she said.

“They got used to just spending these money and they didn’t know how to save, as a result they are still struggling today with how to manage their finance and it’s a really worrying trend,” Margaret revealed.

“I have been running some trainings with the local communities, affected by the mine in Kiunga and now through the training I received from CEFI, I will use the experience, skills and knowledge I have learnt to educate my people about the importance of savings and how they can be able to do their budgeting and plan for their future,” she added.

Leo’s aim however is to introduce an online platform for SME’s to do their business through a program his currently running called SME Amazing Markets program.

“We realized that apart from us introducing technology and innovation to the SMEs, financial inclusivity is one of the very key essential skills that they need to understand and appreciate,” said Leo.

“So while we are introducing an online platform where SMEs can now sell their products, we realized that they’ll be making money, but then will they sustain themselves and grow?,” added Leo.

That question propelled Leo to attend CEFI’s ToT Training and he stated that the learnings gained from the training will be major boost for his SME Amazing Markets program.

“So that’s where we decided to attend this training so that we can not only impact them by introducing new innovations in emerging technology, but also help SME owner’s in terms of understanding basic finances, how to manage the finance, where to invest, where to save, and then eventually grow into bigger corporations to sustain our economy,” concluded Leo.

 

Photo caption: Mr. Leo Kapitigau and Margaret Vakura showing their respective certificates after successfully completing the five day ToT Training.  

 

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News Article

Two new partners join Market for Village Farmers Project

Two new partners in the Market for Village Farmers (MVF) Project have been encouraged to change the mindset of farming communities driven by farming activities.

CEFI’s Executive Director Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe said this during MoU signings between CEFI and Gentrade Consultancy Services and Southern Consultancy (Enterprising) Services on May 08.

“You are very important partners in this endeavor and I want to reiterate that you have to maintain very high standards and deliver the quality service,” Mr. Ranasinghe said.

“Change the mindset of the people in your community and the change will come through opening of a bank account or submitting a loan proposal to a bank,” Mr. Ranasinghe told the owners of the two consultancy services providers.

Mr. Ranasinghe emphasized the MVF project as one of CEFI’s key initiatives and partners adding it was a unique agriculture project that aimed to get the banks involved in agriculture lending with the focus on value chain of the fresh produce sector.

The MoU agreement is for Village Farmers Livelihood Improvement Training under MVF project and is funded by International Food Agency Development Authority and executed by Department of Agriculture and Livestock and Implemented by Fresh Produce Development Authority.

The MoU aims to improve the livelihoods of village farming households in target provinces and by facilitating the transition from semi-subsistence agriculture to market oriented production and farming as a business.

The project’s target provinces are Western Highlands, Jiwaka, Simbu, Eastern Highlands, Morobe and East New Britain.

Gentrade Consultatncy Services and Southern Consultancy (Enterprising) Services as part of their engagement will provide the following deliverables;

-Provide qualified male and female trainers (10 each)

-Ensure selected trainers fully participate in the Village Farmers Livelihood Improvement (VFLI) ToT Training and are certified

-Provide VFLI training

-Plan and coordinate movements of trainers and provide reports

MVF Project Manager, Mr. Joe Koima, who was present to witness the signing, thanked CEFI for the continued partnership  and added that training the farmers is key to developing the fresh produce sector.

“This partnership between the lead partners is important because the ratio between trainers to farmers is very low. This partnership with CEFI through the training partners will increase the ratio leading to more outreach in financial inclusion trainers,” Mr. Koima said.

Mr. Koima encouraged CEFI to increase its financial literacy programs in the near future to cover more centers in the country as this provides the leverage for development.

Mr. Wesley Lopele, Gentrade Consultancy Services and and Mr. Tony Walega, Southern Enterprises Services, both thanked CEFI for the opportunity to be engaged as training partners in the MVF project.

“We (Southern Enterprises Services) are looking forward to working with CEFI and MVF and are eager to make our involvement a success,” Mr Walega said.

“We have been waiting for this opportunity and thank CEFI for choosing us on merit as one of the training partners for this project,” added Mr. Lopele of Gentrade Consultancy Services.

 

Photo caption: CEFI Executive Director Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe (middle) signing the MoU document with the two new partners in MVF Project.

Categories
News Article

Papua New Guineans to be educated in stock markets following MoU signing between CEFI and Securities Commission PNG

Papua New Guineans will be educated on investing in stock markets following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing between CEFI and Securities Commission of PNG (SCPNG).

The lack of knowledge in this area has seen many Papua New Guinean’s making unwise decision to invest in ponzi schemes and throwing away their hard earned money to this schemers who make a quick return from unsuspecting financial illiterate customers.

The need to educate Papua New Guineans on making real investments in stock equity markets has urged SCPNG to embark on this journey.

The SCPNG Acting Chairman Mr. Joshua James and CEFI Executive Director Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe signed the MoU on Wednesday May 08, which will see both organizations working in collaboration and partnership in carrying out the programs initiated by CEFI.

The programs include, Young Minds Savings Campaign, Provincial Government Engagement Program, Training of Trainers to train investor and Development of Capital Marketing Modules.

“We (SCPNG) want to drive this concept to the schools and partner with CEFI and invest in the education program so that schools are able to teach the young children about investing and making the right choices,” said Mr. James Joshua, SCPNG Acting Chairman.

“We also need to drive that out to the public and make them clear on which are the right avenues to invest and get a real return out of it.

“That is our agenda that we want to expand the investment options and investment tools that are currently on our market.

“Thank you CEFI, we need partners like you to drive the agenda forward,” Mr. Joshua added.

Mr. Ranasinghe thanked SCPNG for coming onboard and agreeing to terms of the MoU, which he said highlighted the importance of their partnership which is to implement the programs.

“People need to be educated in investment and we are looking forward to working with you (SCPNG) to develop a training module and deliver to the people of this country,” Mr. Ranasinghe added.

The MoU will run for three years from May 8 2024 to May 08 2027.

 

Photo caption: CEFI Executive Director Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe (left) and SCPNG Acting Chairman Mr. Joshua James signing the MoU.

Categories
Partners Corner

Digicel Financial Services strategic approach in using its ‘Cell Moni’ platform to deliver financial services

In this insight, we look at Digicel Financial Services Ltd [DFSL] highlights of some of the strategic approach being made by DFSL to on the usage of its mobile financial service platform ‘CellMoni’ through implementing activities such as; [a] Introduction and improving of services, [b] New developments planned ahead and [c] Some challenges faced to provide affordable and quality financial services with ‘Cell Moni’.

As per the I-Commit, in the next four [4] years, DFSL looks to increase CellMoni subscribers through:

  • New Customer Onboarding Strategy

‘Community Engagements with customers’ involving the setup of mini booths in specific communities three [3] times a week where  significant results have been observed with improvements in onboarding of customers.

 

  • Introduction of New Products

These are products introduced and tailored for customers to access new services and products only available on ‘CellMoni’ when it comes to customer base commitment as per the I-Commit.

 

Examples of ‘new product’ include:

 

International Money Remittance (IMR)

A [Digicel] CellMoni customer has the option to be remitted money from overseas senders directly into their phone other than traditionally through bank account or Western Union.

Merchant Payments

Apart from payments through USSD *888# code to stores accepting CellMoni payments, an additional payment method has been made possible for customers with a smartphone to simply scan the QR code which is a new concept with a two-way benefit [2-ways] a] Improve store customer experience b] faster payment & convenience experience. This service is currently available by close to sixty CellMoni stores [merchants] and with the footprint being expanded.

 

  • Agent Expansion

To increase footprint of agents, DFSL looks to partner with pop-up table businesses with a commission structure as an added bonus benefiting their ongoing business. Currently DFSL has the largest agent distribution network in the country with  1200 CellMoni agents available to existing and potential customers to access financial services.

We have an array of production service points, key ones that speak to our selling point are;

  • Utility &/or Bill Payments

CellMoni customers are paying through their phone, electricity and water bill anywhere, anytime minimizing physical visits to a store and standing in queues. Customers can now, through recent innovation, can check their water bill through CellMoni without having to visit a Water PNG branch in order to make payment.

 

  • Cash Disbursement

DFSL provides to individuals and businesses [small or large] the payment solution of performing cash disbursements to recipients who for example are; casual workers, volunteers, farmers in exchange for crops and so forth.

 

An example of this is the current World Bank Food Nutrition initiative where DFSL has partnered with Department of Community Development and Religion enabling the department to perform such transactions to recipients.

We also have in the pipeline for the next three [3] to four [4] years planned developments such as:

  • Insurance payments

Premium payments are made through CellMoni by individuals and businesses [small or large].

 

  • Ticket payments

Ticket payments through CellMoni for a customer to attend event[s], lottery and bets.

 

  • Visa card placements

Visa card holders with CellMoni can be able to transfer money from their visa bank account to their CellMoni to perform payments for services or products unique to CellMoni and not available on other payment service provider platforms.

Some of the potential barriers identified and, is a challenge faced by Digicel Financial Services include:

  • Moving funds from bank account to CellMoni

CellMoni customers with bank accounts are currently withdrawing cash from their accounts to physically to have to visit a CellMoni agent or Digicel store to make a cash deposit into their CellMoni so to make transactions for services or products unique to CellMoni, not available on other platforms

 

To move funds from a bank account to a CellMoni wallet does not exist. This is a pain point shared with relevant stakeholders in the interest of customers.

 

  • Know your customer [KYC]

Customers are keen to use CellMoni however, similar to other financial institutions, customers need to provide an ID but, do not have an ID. This is an issue faced by most Papua New Guineans and financial institutions.

 

  • Switch

DFSL has since progressed with and are now, part of the national payment council where all national financial institutions who are part of the council collectively, decide and enable switch access and connectivity.

 

To conclude, DFSL’s financial inclusion agenda comes down to four key pillars;

 

  • Empowerment:

To empower those without financial access and be able to bridge that gap.

 

  • Convenience:

DFSL can be part of the solution in the financial services ecosystem to address a number of issues.

 

For example, the bank situations to reduce queue form at ATMs and Bank lines through funds transfers from bank accounts to CellMoni giving access to the vast majority facing demography challenges relating to access to financial services as CellMoni is accessible with a mobile phone.

 

  • Security:

A sense of financial security is given to customers minimizing the carrying of physical cash and addressing potential threats, theft and hold-ups made to customers.

 

  • Affordability:

CellMoni’s fee structure is competitive and currently, only includes fee charge for withdrawing of cash from their CellMoni wallet whilst all other services available and unique to CellMoni platform do not include transaction fees to a customer.

Photo Caption: Mr. Thompson Kumi Sakyi, Managing Director, Mobile Financial Services, in a question and answer session with CEFI briefly outlined and highlighted some of Digicel Financial Services strategic approach to improving its customer’s use of its mobile services ‘Cell Moni’.

Photo caption: (below-top image) DFS Head Office in Port Moresby. (right image) The Customer Services Call Centre.

 

 

 

Categories
Media Releases

‘Women’s Micro Bank a key driver of financial inclusion’ – ‘BPNG Governor Ms. Elizabeth Genia.’

 

Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea Ms. Elizabeth Genia officially opened the Women’s Micro Bank (WMB) Branch in Kerema (Tuesday May 07), making it the fifth WMB branch to be operating in Papua New Guinea.

“Today’s official opening of its fifth branch celebrates another achievement in a long line of achievements we have seen for women’s microbank. I am sure your highly esteemed founder, the late Janet Sape, would have been extremely proud of the organization affectionately known as Mama Bank, now one of the top 50 companies for women in APEC countries and well regarded as a financial services innovator,” Ms. Genia told the people of Kerema town who turned up in hundreds to witness the important occasion.

Ms. Genia stated that WMB has become a key driver of financial inclusion and financial inclusion was originally a BPNG led innovation but is now a national strategic priority.

She applauded women’s micro bank services in addressing several financial inclusion objectives, particularly highlighting depositing taking and lending opportunities to the 85% of the population who are still unbanked.

“Opening of the Kerema branch is another way Women’s Microbank has made a commitment to encouraging people to access financial services.”

“I understand the Kerema branch will enable the people of the district, particularly the women, to take advantage of services such as the MSC credit scheme, financial literacy training, as well as basics, including deposit takings and loans. The branch will provide a practical and desirable alternative to the risks of holding cash, informal money lending and money scams, all of which stop people from building a comfortable standard of living.”

“Today’s official opening gives members of the community the opportunity to take significant steps forward towards building the financial security and financial independence,” the BPNG Governor said.

Coinciding with the opening, was also the launching of the Kerema District SME Policy which was officially launched by Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Honourable James Marape.

The Prime Minister committed three million kina towards the WMB Kerema branch as part of the Government’s partnership with KDDA in assisting to create a credit lending facility where Gulf women especially mothers in SME can benefit.

“Get into productive micro to small medium enterprises and do well for yourself. By doing well for yourself, you will be preparing your children well for the future,” the prime minister encouraged women from Gulf province.

Kerema Open MP Honourable Thomas Opa also committed two million kina towards the WMB Kerema branch and also became the first customer to open an account with the branch.

Mr. Opa emphasised that empowering women in Gulf province was a big challenge but was positive that with the setting up of a WNB (mama) branch in his province and assistance from the government with seed capital to fund lending credit facilities, he was confident mothers and young girls will take advantage of the opportunity and use the facilities wisely to venture in various business opportunities and empower themselves financially.

Other important delegates who witnessed the SME Policy Launching and WMB opening included, Kerema Open MP and Vice Minister for Petroleum and Energy Honourable Thomas Opa, Wapenamanda Open MP and Vice Minister for Works and Highways Honourable Mikki Kaeok, Moresby North West Open MP Lohia Boe Samuel, BPNG Assistant Governor George Awap, WMB CEO Gunanidhi Das, CEFI Executive Director Saliya Ranasinghe and members of the Kerema District Development Authority and the Gulf Provincial Executive Council.

 

Ends.

Image Captions:

Image 1 & 2.  Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea Ms. Elizabeth Genia officially opening the Women’s Micro Bank in Kerema.

Image 3 & 4.  Prime Minister Honourable James Marape cutting the ribbon to the launch the Kerema District SME Policy.

Image 5.  Kerema Open MP and Vice Minister for Petroleum and Energy Honourable Thomas Opa became the first customer to open an account with the branch. Witnessing this is BPNG Governor Ms. Elizabeth Genia.

Image 6. Kerema Open MP and Vice Minister for Petroleum and Energy Honourable Thomas Opa shows his passbook after opening an account with the branch. Witnessing this was (from right to left), Wapenamanda Open MP and Vice Minister for Works and Highways Honourable Mikki Kaeok, Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea Ms. Elizabeth Genia, CEFI Executive Director Saliya Ranasinghe, CEFI Deputy Executive Director Peter Samuel and Women’s Micro Bank CEO Gunanidhi Das.

Image 7. Womens Micro Bank, Kerema Branch

For further information on the work of CEFI please contact CEFI Communications Team: +675 3225300, email: lomaro@thecefi.org  or visit www.thecefi.org

 

Categories
Impact Stories

Jessica determined to educate her people on financial literacy after successfully completing CEFI’s Training of Trainers Training.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 – A male participant delivering a presentation during the ToT training.

Photo 2 – Group presentations during the ToT training.

Photo 3 – Jessica Kuambu receiving her certificate from CEFI Executive Director Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe.

Photo 4 – The ToT trainee participants following the mini graduation pose for a group photo with CEFI’s Executive Director Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe (sitting 3rd from right) and Deputy Executive Director Mr. Peter Samuel (sitting 2nd form right).

Photo 5 – Jessica Kuambu with proudly showing her certificate after successfully completing the ToT Training.

Photo 6 – Jessica Kuambu (middle) with her colleagues from the ENBSL, Lavini Taraika (CEO-ENBSL) and Peter Wartovo (Business Development Officer-ENBSL), who also attended the five day ToT training.

Photo 7– Group discussion activity during the ToT training.

 

April 30, 2024

Growing up in the 1990s in Bialla, West New Britain Province, a young Jessica Kuambu witnessed firsthand how people from her area spent cash recklessly without giving a single thought about saving.

The oil palm boom in the province caused an overflow of cash into the province hence Jessica to help her people one day to learn about savings.

“When I was in high school my parents had an oil palm block and during the harvesting period there were so much money floating around, people did not know what to do with it, the only thing they knew was spending it recklessly,” revealed Jessica.

“My father also had a small trade store and on weekends we would make around K80,000 to K100, 00 in cash. My parents would put all that money under their mattress and sleep on it until Monday, and go to the bank and deposit all these money,” she recalled vividly.

“During school holiday’s, going back home, I sometimes question why can’t OPIC or Hargy conduct some training to teach these people how to save their money,” thought Jessica.

This question 30 years on motivated Jessica to one day help her people know about saving and budgeting their money.

On Friday 19th April 2024, Jessica was among 31 participants certified by CEFI to be trainers in Financial Literacy.

The graduating batch were part of the first Expression of Interest-Training of Trainers training facilitated by CEFI in their Port Moresby office.

Jessica, who currently works as a Manager –Sales and Marketing with East New Britain Savings and Loans (ENBSL) in Kokopo, attended the training with two of her colleagues, CEO Lavinia Taraika and Business Development Officer Peter Wartovo.

Having an ENBSL branch in Bialla is the spring board for Jessica to use to impart the knowledge and skills she gained from the five days training, to her local community.

She revealed that there was a great need for financial inclusion activities and financial literacy programs to be implemented in local governments in the rural area.

She added they were unable to attend to the high number of request for financial literacy training due to the limited number of trainers but now that is about change following the training.

“We are increasing the number of trainers in the ENBSL, so we can go out and train many people as we can in financial literacy in all the four districts in ENB,” she said.

“We (ENBSL) are also expanding throughout the New Guinea Islands so in this capacity we are able to cover more territory not just inside ENB but in nearby provinces as well.”

For Jessica the training has equipped her well to return home and encourage her people to open bank accounts, save their money and empower them with financial freedom.

Ends.

 

 

 

Categories
Media Releases

The Bank of Papua New Guinea collaborates with the Global Green Growth Institute to launch Papua New Guinea’s Green Finance Centre

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, March 25, 2024. The Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) in close collaboration with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) together with other key partners including the Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI), the Department of Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA), the Department of Treasury, the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (NZ MFAT) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) all gathered at the Hilton Hotel to launch Papua New Guinea’s Green Finance Centre (GFC).

GGGI, as the main delivery partner and CEFI as a champion in financial inclusion teamed up to develop the Inclusive Green Finance Policy (IGFP) back in 2021. GGGI received a total funding of USD 670,000 from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) under the Low Emission Climate Resilient Development Program (LECRD) program for the initiative which includes the establishment of the GFC.

The GFC will now serve as the entity responsible for overseeing the implementation of IGFP and all future initiatives related to green finance flows in the country. Its core objective would be to address environmental and climate challenges in PNG and promote sustainable economic growth through innovative, yet inclusive climate financing and green investment mechanisms and it will be guided by a steering committee that is chaired by BPNG.

During the launch, GFC’s logo and website were unveiled by the guest of honour, Chief Secretary to the Government of Papua New Guinea Mr. Ivan Pomaleu OBE, Conservation Environment & Climate Change Minister Hon Simo Kilepa MP, and the Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea Mrs. Elizabeth Genia.

Other high-profile guests who were present at the auspicious launch included New Zealand High Commissioner to PNG, HE Pete Zwart, France Ambassador to PNG, HE Guillaume Lemoine, GGGI Country Representative Mr. Sakiusa Tuisolia, AFD Executive Director Mr. Philippe Orliange, AFI Executive Director Dr Alfred Hannig, BPNG Assistant Governor Mr. George Awap and CEFI Chief Executive Officer Mr. Saliya Ranasinghe.

Coinciding with the launch was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among BPNG, GGGI and the three financial Institutions; Bank of South Pacific Group (BSP Group), Nationwide Mirco Bank (MiBank) and Women’s Micro Bank (Mama Bank) to integrate the IGFP onto their books to develop green loan products.

Also at the launch, AFD signed a 6 million Euros grant agreement with GGGI as the delivery partner of Greening the Pacific’s Financial System. Under this grant, PNG through the GFC will receive 1 million Euros to support the ongoing work of IGFP implementation and an additional 1.8 million Euros for designing and capitalizing of a Green Refinancing Facility.

The guest of honour in his keynote remarks praised the establishment of the GFC that it is a bold step forward in greening PNG’s financial sector and will mobilize green investment opportunities to address climate change impacts to ensure a more resilient future for Papua New Guineans.   “In line with the Government’s mandate, the Green Finance Centre will strongly advocate for banks to channel loan investments in sectors such as Agriculture, Energy, SMEs and Bioeconomy to promote low-emission options to reduce our carbon footprint and lead by

example in the region and globally, demonstrating our commitment to addressing climate change impacts,” said Mr. Pomaleu.

BPNG Governor Mrs. Elizabeth Genia echoed BPNG’s commitment to this endeavour. “The Bank of Papua New Guinea is committed to promoting national financial inclusion and the greening of the financial sector and the launch of the Green Finance Centre underscores the commitment of all stakeholders involved to drive sustainable development and address climate change challenges through innovative financial mechanisms,” said Mrs. Genia.

Mrs. Genia also thanked CEFI and GGGI for their tremendous work in developing IGFP and now establishment of GFC.

The New Zealand High Commissioner to PNG, HE Peter Zwart, emphasized that climate change and its impacts are real, and that responsive climate action is increasingly urgent. He said, “The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is proud to provide funding for IGFP and collaborate with the Bank of Papua New Guinea and GGGI in establishing the Green Finance Centre which will play a crucial role in working with financial institutions to mobilize increased green lending and investments in Papua New Guinea.”

The France Ambassador to PNG HE Guillaume Lemoine also emphasized the importance of the initiative giving similar remarks saying “Greening the financial system in PNG is crucial towards the fight against climate change and I am proud that France is happy to help PNG tackle this. PNG is a role model in the Pacific, and we wish all the best to the team involved.”

Other VIPs that also spoke during the occasion were AFI Executive Director Dr Alfred Hannig, AFD Executive Director Mr. Philippe Orliange and BPNG Assistant Governor Mr. George Awap who all highly commended the significance of the Green Finance Centre.

The Inclusive green finance initiative is in line with BPNG – CEFI’s Third National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS 3) (2023-2027) and PNG’s climatic goals stated in PNG Vision 2050 and Medium-Term Development Plan IV (2023-2027). The GFC is located within the CEFI office on Level Three, Credit Corp Building, Downtown Port Moresby. For more information on GFC, kindly visit GFC’s website, www.gfcpng.com or send an inquiry to infor@gfcpng.com

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