Microfinance scheme praised for progress since eruptions

 By ELIZABETH VUVU

MATAURE Rabaul Microfinance Ltd (MRML) board chairman Prof David Kavanamur is pleased with their achievements since the 1994 volcanic eruptions that devastated Rabaul town and district.

“The results are truly remarkable considering the competitive environment that MRML is now operating in and considering where we came from after eruptions,” he said.

He was speaking during the launching of the K500,000 revolving funds for the district last Saturday.

Kavanamur said the MRML, which was established in 2011, was a major project contributing significantly to the vision of Rabaul district of “Re-growing the local economy”.

This was to promote local economic activities at the village level, assist in poverty alleviation and financial inclusion of the people in the district.

He said MRML’s aspirations and objectives were directly aligned with the Vision 2050 of wealth creation and poverty alleviation and also fitted in with the efforts of the Central 

Bank on financial inclusion aimed at getting the un-banked portion of PNG population into the formal financial system.

He said the board has successfully applied to the Central Bank for approval to hold a license as a licensed financial institution and to be in compliance with the Banks and Financial Institutions Act 2000.

“There was a lot of talk about whether MRML was licensed and I am pleased to say that we have been authorised to operate for one year and within that one year we work towards achieving that full licence.”

“It is only a matter of months before we reach that licensed banking institution status under the Central Banking Act.”

Kavanamur said as of Dec 31 last year, new accounts at MRML has reached 8, 000 savers with net savings totalling more than K4 million.