“You have come into the global capital of indigenous communities.”
PNG Prime Minister James Marape, said this in his keynote address at the second day of the World Indigenous Business Forum (WIBF), at the APEC Haus in Port Moresby.
He spoke in front of members of indigenous communities from within PNG & across the world.
PM Marape said, in the past 4 years, he & his government have focused on promoting Micro Small & Medium & Enterprises (MSME) and how members of PNG’s indigenous communities can work within their capacity, to tap into opportunities and secure business connectivity, to enhance their products as well as find markets outside of the country.
“We have cacao, coffee, copra, vanilla, oil palm, almost any tropical fruit, cultural artefacts…If you are looking for something new and looking to go beyond boundaries, come to PNG.”
He said as a nation of many cultures, the Government knows that it has to support business, thus they’ve pumped an estimated K200 million in the last four years into the sector.
“I have also given assurance to our business community that we will refine the policies to ensure that there’s best practice in place, low-cost lending and funding to enhance their products.”
He said the government is well aware that they also need to create an enabling environment for business to flourish in the country, including investment in infrastructure, in the financial space, along with law-and-order space as well.
“We’re doing our very best to remove impediments in commerce & trade and business to ensure local businesses prosper and grow.”
Marape added that PNG was geographically ideal to do business, as we have a direct access to the Asian Markets; a market location have large indigenous communities of their own.
He further urged the visitors to enjoy all that PNG had to offer and to use the WIBF to find PNG partners