The President of the Morobe Disable Agency (MDA), Mr. Benedict Hippom said he is happy with the outcome of the National Markets Convention held last week, saying that it was an eye opener for all that had attended. Mr. Hippom said the forum brought together people from all over the country to discuss matters pertaining to market safety and inclusivity in the informal market space. Hippom, who is also a Person with Disability (PWD), said that the government should seriously look into the informal sector. “A lot of times people think that the informal sector consists of only people sitting at table markets and those that break the law, but they don’t understand that there is an untapped potential in the informal markets.” As per the conversations held during the convention, it was mentioned that most of the time the money that is circulated through the informal exchanges are unbanked, and should the government look into this to assist markets, Hippom believes that it will be a win for everyone. Although Hippom mentioned that he did not take part in the conversations, he did however say that he was there to observe how other markets were operating and take ideas back to Morobe province to present to the stakeholders on how they can make sure the market spaces are conducive and inclusive for people living with disabilities. “When it was the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we had faced huge challenges. When this ended, the government came out to look at how they could bring back people into the sector and I believe we should also try to assist PLWD’s.” However, Mr. Hippom is happy that the government is looking to make markets more accessible for women and girls to access and trade, but he to see the government do more PWD’s.