Talasea signs K5mil deal with bank for business activities

Talasea district development authority DDA) and People’s Micro Bank (PM) have entered into a K5.5 million partnership to empower people in the district to venture into small-to-medium scale business activities.
The two parties have signed a memorandum-of-agreement that will allow for Talasea DDA to put funds into PMB as security for interested customers to get loans to go into business. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Talasea MP and DDA board chairman Francis Maneke said this was the way forward to empower local people and entrepreneurs in the district.
“It is also a way forward for cooperative societies that are now developing in local level governments in the districts,” he said.
“We are implementing Government policy on commerce and industry and economic recovery.”
Maneke said the DDA wanted to provide an environment that was conducive for local business men and women to become good customers of PMB.
He said the bank should consider appropriate interest rates.
Under this partnership arrangement, Talasea DDA will provide a loan guarantee security fund totalling K5.2 million over five years from 2018 to 2022. Maneke has presented an initial K600,000 which will be followed by K1.6 million next year and K1 million each for the ensuing three years.
Receiving the money, chairman of PMB Julius Yeoh said the bank was happy to work in partnership with Talasea DDA in a programme that aimed at enhancing people’s lives.
He said the bank had only one
objective and that was to improve the financial wellbeing of everyone.
West New Britain Governor Sasindran Muthuvel thanked Maneke for this initiative, which would make it possible for small people to access bank assistance, because it is not easy for an ordinary Papua New Guinean to get bank loans.
He said this initiative would also encourage a savings culture which was lacking in the province.