Bank to set up branch in Aitape

THE Women’s Micro Bank Limited (Mama Bank) will establish a branch in Aitape, West Sepik, to help mothers save their earnings from their small business activities.
In a memorandum of agreement (MoA) signed with the Aitape development authority (DDA) in Port Moresby yesterday, Mama Bank chief executive officer Gunanidhi Das said more than 1,400 customers, mostly mothers, were already registered with the bank.
MP Patrick Pruaitch said the bank would capture most of the women engaged in the informal economy and agricultural activities, mainly cocoa.
He said the DDA had allocated K500,000 towards this micro, small to medium enterprise (MSME) credit scheme.
“We are mostly a cocoa producing district but our mothers do a lot of marketing,” Pruaitch said.
“Woman from the rural areas come in to sell fish and their fresh garden produce to the town population.
“Some of them do handicrafts as well as (operating) PMVs (public motor vehicles).”
Pruaitch said the DDA had already paid out K500,000 to assist roll out the programme in the district, and as it progressed they would make more funding available in order to reach more women in the district.
He said mothers were crucial members of families and the community and promoting a savings culture among women would not only empower them but benefit those around them.