New coalition wants to encourage PNG's entrepreneurial women

Transcript

A new coalition has been set up in Papua New Guinea with the aim of encouraging women in business right down to the grass roots level.

PNG's Business Coalition for Women was launched yesterday with the support of the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.   

The first association of its kind in the Pacific, its goal is to drive economic growth and reduce poverty by promoting equal opportunities for women.

The coalition's patron Lady Winifred Kamit told Bridget Tunnicliffe how it will function.

LADY WINIFRED KAMIT: It's task is to encourage and support businesses in their planning and implementation of their business strategies, and to empower women as employees, customers and suppliers. So it's a group of business people who are keen to have women come onboard and prepared to do everything they can to ensure women can participate much better and in an environment that is encouraging to the women.

BRIDGET TUNNICLIFFE: Are there a number of women who have been elected to the board?

WK: There is in fact, I'm very pleased to let you know, that the chairperson is a woman. She's the country manager of Origin. She comes onboard at the time when we are actually looking for women leaders. She put up her name and had the support of the board, that was also elected, for her to be chairperson.

BT: There are a lot of women involved in business but at a very small scale, like at the market scale, that had the potential to employee people and build businesses with the help of something like this new coalition.

WT: Indeed, that would be the aim of reaching out to the people. There isa large number, a percentage of the informal sector which is basically I think 99% represented by women. We    would like to be in a position where we can reach out to them, put the infrastructure in place. But certainly, we see the business community putting up their hand. We know it's a smart thing to do. It will also be a business sense for them to include women and all along the chain including those at the very informal sector at community levels.

BT: Would you say the Papua New Guinea women have an entrepreneurial spirit?

WK: Yes. You see in Port Moresby that people at the markets, and those who own motorvehicles, you'd be surprised how many women are behind that. The micro finance member, I'm advised that women are the best customers there, the best clients, and hopefully we'll improve the percentages and the statistics of the dissipation in those levels.