Local businesses in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector will continue to be supported and represented at the government level into to the future, through the MSME Council of Papua New Guinea (PNG). That was the assurance from the Founder of the MSME Council, Mr. James Gore, at a recent Council event held in the city of Port Moresby this month. Mr. Gore said the Council plays an important role as the link between the government and the micro and small businesses in terms of policy and support for the MSME sector. He said prior to the establishment of the Council four years ago in 2019 through a ministerial approval by the then Minister for Trade, Commerce and Industry, the late Wera Mori, the government engagements with the business sector were only focused on big companies or corporations in terms of State and private sector dealings and support. “For the rest of us (MSMEs), we didn't have a say in terms of trying to influence government policies. We didn’t have a seat at the table when the government wants to engage with businesses,” said Mr. Gore. “But now, we have government recognition, we have a seat at the table when it comes to business dealings with government and the government now has time to listen to us. So, in that way we can try to influence, rather than not having a say.” Mr. Gore said the aim of the MSME Council is to advocate creating an enabling environment for the MSME sector, like access to finance for the micro and small business operators to enable them to grow and expand their businesses. A testament to this was the MSME council’s idea put forth to the prime minister for the K200 million annual MSME funding and Credit Guarantee Corporation, which was launched in March 2022. This enabled a lot of micro and small businesses access to finance, helping their growth or start- up. Mr. Gore said their existence is to serve its members in the sector and after four years of operation, the MSME Council looks to the future and will continue to work with the local businesses and the government to create better enabling environment for them to grow in this sector, and with it, grow the economy of PNG as well.