Businesses in ICT can access SME grants, says minister

THE Government’s SME (small to medium enterprise) funding support to be parked in different banks is also for start-ups and SMEs in the information communication technology (ICT) space, says State Enterprises Minister Sasindran Muthuvel.
He said this while presenting a cheque for K20,000 from Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH) to PNG Digital ICT Cluster, a company that will host an ICT hackathon this month.
Muthuvel said it was the 21st Century and it was important to recognise the ICT sector in an era were ICT solutions were needed.
He said funding should not be a problem for SMEs and start-ups because the Government was putting a lot of effort into the SME space.
“Government is putting a lot of effort in terms of funding for SMEs so I feel that funding should not be a constraint to talk about helping start-ups and SMEs,” he said.
“The funding that the Government puts into National Development Bank or BSP (Bank South Pacific) is also for ICT business.
“We are living in the 21st Century and it’s good for us to recognise this as an important sector where we need to engage our youths.
“We will be quite amazed about the receptiveness of our young people.
“They are quite good with anything to do with technical knowledge.
“It is also good to introduce it at an early level at schools so they can also be aware and choose it as a profession and not just talking about creating SMEs but also creating ICT-skilled people.”