Financial training boosting confidence in business start-ups

MORE than 70 participants attended a three-day financial literacy course that was organised last week by the PNG Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, MiBank and the PNG Defence Force.
The training provided financial basics for those that want to start a small business, said Women’s chamber of commerce and industry president Avia Koisen.
“What we had over the past three days is a financial literacy training where about 70-plus women and some men have graduated from today. This was in partnership with MiBank Nationwide and the PNG Defence Force” Koisen said.
“The content for the training was very basic about saving and how to budget and is an important fundamental for anyone going into business and for making money grow.”
MiBank and the chamber signed an agreement after the graduation.
“MiBank is focused on the grassroots people at the bottom of the economic period and we understand that providing financial education, to women in particular, has a multiplier effect,” MiBank chief executive Tony Westaway said.
“It is a great partnership we have with the chamber and we are grateful for them introducing us to different women’s group. The (agreement) we signed with them is about working together to empower women around PNG and we are very fortunate to partner with them and also develop a partnership with the PNGDF. The Defence Force’s Lieutenant Gerthrude Ilam said the partnership was in line with the new military theme of enhacing “the branch image within the force and the community”.
“In conducting this financial literacy programme and using the PNGDF training branch facilities, that’s in a way enhancing the image of the training branch within the force discipline by involving a few of our PNGDF personnel in the training as well as involving the ladies in the vicinity of the barracks or community,” she said