Data: Most SMEs owned by highlanders

 MOST of the businesses in the small to medium enterprise sector in the country are owned by people from the highlands region, according to a recent data.

Information from the country’s SME policy (2016-2030) indicates that 55.8 per cent of businesses in SME sector are owned by highlanders, 12.4 per cent from the Southern region, 19.4 from Momase, 11.9 per cent from the New Guinea Islands region and 0.5 per cent by expatriates. 

A table outlining status of SME in PNG also indicated that businesses in the SME sector were mostly owned (75.2 per cent) by males.

Retailing, wholesaling and farming are businesses that dominate the country’s SME sector representing 68.3 per cent. Other SME activities make up the remaining 31.7 per cent. 

It shows that 94.4 per cent of the SMEs have never obtained any form of loan while 5.6 per cent of them obtained some form of bank loans for their operations.

It also indicated that 97.5 per cent of the SMEs have not received any form of direct government assistance while 2.5 per cent of the SMEs received assistance from Government in the form of cash or kind. 

Only 13.1 per cent of the SMEs have formal registered with the Investment Promotion Authority while the rest are catogorised under the informal sector.  

In comparison to other developing nations, the contribution from SME sector is way below globally accepted standards – which is up to 50 per cent of the GDP and contributing over 50 per cent of formal sector employment.