The women folk in Kerema district of the Gulf province who wish to go into small businesses can now have access to financial services required for start- ups or support existing business operations, now that there are new facilities opened to cater for that. Just recently the Kerema district saw the opening of the District SME facility and the Women’s Micro Bank branch in the provincial capital. These new facilities came about from the efforts of the local Member for Kerema, Mr. Thomas Opa, who wanted to improve the lives of women and their households in his district. Prime Minister (PM) James Marape applauded the efforts of Mr. Opa for his dedication to mobilising women within the district into Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). "I want to commend MP Opa who is mobilising the women of Kerema into MSMEs," Prime Minister Marape said. "Our people must migrate from subsistence lifestyle to the cash economy, earning money from their land and locations they live in." Highlighting the pivotal role of the Kerema District Development Authority (DDA) and Gulf Provincial Government, the prime minister also emphasised their support for both women and men to venture into MSMEs, thereby contributing to the growth of the local economy. "As I always say, if one million families engage in MSMEs, then our people are empowered," Marape remarked. "If one million families earn K10,000 each year from MSMEs including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and tourism, that is a K10 billion wealth in the hands of our people." Meanwhile, the prime minister also presented K3 million to start rolling out the program for the women folk in Kerema to starting tapping into.