A branch of the World Bank has signed an agreement with the Papua New Guinea government to improve access to credit for small and medium sized enterprises.
The International Finance Corporation will guarantee 50 percent of loans that local banks extend to those businesses.
The IFC Manager for Papua New Guinea, Carolyn Blacklock, says the country's economic growth is very strong but it's not filtering down to everyday people.
She says in developing countries economic growth has to find its way to the masses.
"One of the quickest ways and most effective ways of doing that is to make sure there's a robust functioning small and medium enterprise sector because it's those businesses that are employing people and who actually contribute revenues to government, they're sort of the engine of growth."
The programme is expected to support up to 63 million US dollars in new financing.
