Digital possibilities a way to market goods: Bolllard

By HELEN TARAWA
Papua New Guinea has some interesting new applications and digital possibilities that can allow people in rural areas to get goods to markets within the country and overseas.
Apec Secretariat executive director Dr Alan Bollard, in his opening remarks at the finance ministers’ meeting yesterday, said PNG blockchain meant bilum weavers and designers in villages could keep their own intellectual property.
“The theme, ‘harnessing inclusive opportunities, embracing a digital future’ is a challenge in PNG because we don’t have a wide coverage of broadband,” he said.
“There are very big development challenges in all of these. Papua New Guinea wants to make it work, not just for PNG but for all the other 20 economies as well.
“That means there’s continued focus on connectivity, structural reform and inclusive and sustainable growth.”
Bollard said finance ministers had come and swapped experiences about how to focus on regional economic integration.
“We expect continuous flow-on trade flows on investment and on digital arrangements for public finance,” he said.
“There are 200 different initiatives going around Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation on the whole area of electronic commerce.
“We want to make sure these platforms not just work but they have got connectivity and they work for small businesses – which is where most of our economies are actually focused on.
“We hope that this is going to be the way where small businesses can get access into the big growth drivers of the international economy.
“There are about 100 million formal small businesses in Apec: Only 5 per cent of them trade.
“We can use digital possibilities and electronic commerce to get them into the arena as well.”