Lack of skills affecting innovation

A LACK of skills and knowledge has affected the growth of innovative enterprises in PNG, says National Research Institute senior research fellow Dr Elizabeth Kopel.
Dr Kopel, who wrote the institute’s Spotlight-Volume 14, said innovation using new technology and methods of production required knowledge, skills and capital but many entrepreneurs lack these inputs.
“This partly explains the lack of diversity in activities, leading to oversupply, strong competition and poor sales which are recurring themes,” she said.
“This evidence raises the need for policy interventions to be strategic and holistic, from different entry points to address a range of different issues simultaneously.
“A good starting point for intervention to promote innovation and diversification would be to support informal enterprises established by trained people with specialised skills and those with a spark of originality.”
She said the enterprises were likely to grow, become sustainable and transition to small-medium enterprises thereby achieving the target of 500,000 SMEs by 2030.