Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea — Papua New Guinea Women Entrepreneurs Connect (PNGWEC), whose mission is to empower and motivate women to succeed in business, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PNGX Markets, the PNG Digital ICT Cluster, Emerging Venture Management (Unkapt), and Pacific Capital Markets Development—together, the proponents of the DEFINE Initiative.
The MOU outlines cooperation to deliver key DEFINE Initiative objectives, including:
Facilitating technical assistance for micro, small, and medium women-led enterprises (MSMEs)
Enhancing the human capital capabilities of women-led businesses
Expanding access to banking and financial services, especially for women and vulnerable groups
Promoting the use of enabling technologies, particularly ICT, to empower women entrepreneurs
With over 5,000 members, PNGWEC is uniquely positioned to collaborate with DEFINE to deliver tangible outcomes for women in the MSME sector.
“We are very pleased to be an integral partner in the DEFINE Initiative,” said PNGWEC Chairwoman Ms. Esther Igo.
“This is a very strategic partnership as PNGWEC works to promote and progress the economic empowerment of women in Papua New Guinea. It gives our members and other women entrepreneurs the opportunity to expand and scale their businesses.
Many women MSMEs have focused locally—this partnership opens the door to international trade and export.
Assessment and capacity-building support will be provided to more mature businesses with strong turnover, profitability, and employees.
We are excited to collaborate with our partners to achieve these goals.”
PNGX Chairman Mr. David Lawrence added:
“PNGWEC is an important partner for the development of the DEFINE Initiative and its outreach to entrepreneurial women in the MSME sector. This is a key opportunity to deliver business, financial, and technology skills training to an essential part of PNG’s economy.
We hope many PNGWEC members will participate in a new business skills program for women, which DEFINE is developing in collaboration with the UNCDF as announced last week.”
Mr. Lawrence also noted that PNGWEC’s involvement complements PNGX’s existing MOU with Mama Bank, another partner dedicated to financial inclusion for women:
“PNGWEC’s interest in exploring artificial intelligence solutions to improve women’s access to finance aligns strongly with the priorities of both the DEFINE Initiative and Mama Bank.”
