Project aims to help small businesses develop skills

Over 500,000 existing micro and small business and potential entrepreneurs in the country will acquire business development skills (BDS) training over the next couple of years.
This was made known by microfinance expansion project (MEP) manager, Jacob Gop, during a recent BDS graduation in Western Highlands.
The Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (Cefi), in its January newsletter, said BDS training had a target to reach 15,000 people, with over 13,000 already being reached throughout the country.
“There are over 132 trainers, 59 of which are women and these women have trained 4600 women,” it said.
“The business development skills training was created to support micro and small enterprises across PNG to help entrepreneurs grow and develop their businesses.”
The newsletter said training was one of the outputs in the microfinance expansion project and had six modules which were developed to train participants on the skills and attitudes of an entrepreneur, quick marketing inputs, project cost, costing of a product/service, stock management and cash flow.
MEP partners with training organisations, faith-based organsations, women groups and individual consultants.