Two East New Britain Financial Institutions in East New Britain Province have inked agreements with the Credit Guarantee Corporation (CGC) recently at the Gazelle International Hotel in Kokopo, East New Britain Province (ENBP). These two institutions are Kada Poroman Microfinance Limited (KPML) and East New Britain Savings & Loans Society (ENBSLS). CGC chief executive officer (CEO) Dominic Sikakau said CGC was set up to assist the SME sector by giving them credit guarantees and is done through establishing partnerships with financial institutions. “CGC is an initiative of the government under the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) 3 and was setup to assist SMEs.” The CGC CEO explained that in 2022, CGC was registered as a legal entity under the Company’s Act and was officially launched by the Prime Minister in March 2022. “CGC anticipates that the partnerships with the banks can assist the SMEs, as under the 4th MTDP, the government has set a target to have 350, 000 SMEs established.” “SMEs are to contribute 6 percent to the GDP, as captured under the MTDP 4.” “We are proud to partner with ENBSL and KPML and we pleased that they can assist facilitate the loans for SMEs in the province,” Sikakau said. KPML CEO Sankar Chitteti commended the initiative saying that insurance does not cover loans that they provide to customers. “It’s a good support for financial institutions, as it minimizes our credit risks. If you cannot give credit to SMEs then it’s very difficult to grow the local economy.” “The struggle faced with lending also impacts financial inclusion,” Chitteti said. He said that unlike commercial banks that focus on the formal sector, micro banks, and financial institutions like them are struggling because their main focus is on the informal sector.