Unbanked population holds back ecommerce

The National Business

By PETER ESILA
ECOMMERCE in Papua New Guinea continues to be held back by a number of factors, says Deloittes Australia.
These include the high unbanked population, low number of credit card holders, and low take-up of mobile money solutions.
Deloitte Australia representative, Peter Williams, told The National these were the major hurdles to overcome to reap the full benefits of internet infrastructure that was being put in place.
Williams was in the country recently to talk about the importance of embracing the digital future in the country.
“My primary purpose was representing Deloitte’s WorldClass initiative,” he said.
“WorldClass is an initiative launched by our global CEO, Punit Renjen, to provide educational opportunities for at least 50 million people in the developing world, with a particular focus on ensuring they can participate in the digital era.
“My first visit to PNG (in 2018) was for the Apec micro small and medium enterprise summit where I spoke on affordable internet infrastructure. My nearest neighbouring country (PNG) would be an ideal place to have an impact with our WorldClass initiative.
“I spent the week in PNG doing a deep dive into the opportunities for education, as the country is about to get internet infrastructure that will allow it to participate in the digital world.
“I spent time at elementary, primary and secondary schools, technical colleges, early learning centres as well as universities.
“I also met with a range of government officials as well as people from the National Research Institute.
Williams also spent some time with Motu-Koitabu chairman Dadi Toka sharing ideas and opportunities.
“I met with Digicel to find what they were doing both with respect to overall uptake of digital services in PNG, as well as what they are planning in education with their foundation,” he said.
“I also met organisations such as World Vision and Buk Bilong Pikinini to get an understanding of the work they are doing on the ground.
“My final responsibility for the week was to present Buk Bilong Pikinini with a donation of A$50,000 (K118,000) to empower them to continue their work with early childhood literacy, as well as improve literacy across communities.”