Participants complete business training

FIFTY participants from provincial and district administrations of Eastern Highlands, Chimbu, Jiwaka, Western Highlands and Enga have successfully completed a two-week workshop for the Start and Improve Your Business training of trainers.
Rachel Marape, Prime Minister James Marape’s wife, challenged the Start and Improve Your Business trainers to use the knowledge they had gained and put their hearts into training the people in their rural districts.
She commended the Small to Medium Enterprise Corporation for the initiative to drive the Government’s vision for the small-to-medium sector forward.
Marape said Papua New Guineans could start-up successful SMEs if they put their hearts and minds to it and that they should not blame foreigners who come and work hard in country to grow their businesses for taking away business opportunities.
She said it came down to one’s attitude and mindset.
“They (foreigners) are successful because they are willing to work hard from dawn to dusk, sitting in the properties they rent to make money,” she told participants.
“Your challenge now is to bring the training to our people, who are already property owners, and work on trying to change their mind-set and attitude to become successful business owners.
“Also collect data and feedback from the people you train so that it will help the Government plan better for future activities in the SME space.”
Marape said another major challenge for informal businesses was growing and formalising their businesses.
She recommended that the Women’s Micro Bank could be a good partner to work with in this space, especially for people in rural areas who were either illiterate or semi-literate.