Hon. Jacob Maki -K2.5 Million to empower women in SME - Mul Baiyer Lumusa District

Three hundred and five (305) women from the Mul LLG of the Mul Baiyer District graduated yesterday from the Start Your Business Micro Enterprises (SYBME) training after two weeks of intensive training. The Small and Medium Enterprises Corporation (SMEC) Start & Improve Your Business (SIYB) training program is behind the governments SME initiatives which the MP for Mul Baiyer District, Jacob Maki is not only the Parliament assistant speaker but also the vice minister for Commerce and Trade which SMEC operates under. “Training yupla ol displa lain tasol kisim training nogat, ating olgeta kisim training bai orait. Olgeta kisim training bai orait, em bai yumi senis. Bai yumi senis, Papua New Guinea bai senis bikos em yumi olgeta kisim training nau em bai yumi senis. Tasol yupla kisim training ya, yupla noken haitim,” stated member Maki, encouraging the participants to utilize the training. The program specifically targeted women in the Mul Baiyer District to empower them with entrepreneurship skills that will improve their lives and support their families. This initiative is a pilot project for the Mul Baiyer district and has already gained interests from all the women in the district. The goal is to foster a business culture among women in the district and encourage more of them to participate in entrepreneurial endeavors. The 305 participants underwent comprehensive training in business planning and management. They graduated not only with their certificates but they have all opened their Hibiscus accounts with stakeholder MiBank, registered business names with the Investment Promotion Authority and now with the member Maki’s support of K1.5 million to the bank, the women can access funding to start their entrepreneurial journey. The program kicked off in Mul LLG and will gradually roll into the other two LLGs of Baiyer and Lumusa. This training program was run with a co-funding from the Mul Baiyer District Development Authority of K111, 000 and K220, 000 from SMEC. Member Maki has also committed another K1 million for the program to be rolled out to other LLGs in the district. According to SMEC Managing Director Petrus Ralda, Western Highlands continues to lead in SME development in the country with Jiwaka in second place. He encouraged all wards to participate and register as the program continues in its roll out within the district so that they are able to not only uplift their standard of living in the village but also to contribute to the economic development of the country as a whole.