by Marie Kauna – EMTV Online, Port Moresby
Three community groups, Voice for Change in Jiwaka, KGWan Eco-Habitat Inc. and Independent Reform and Restoration Movement (IRRM) in Simbu, have registered to become banking agents with Mibank.
The registration of the community groups is aimed at bringing banking services to rural communities that have difficulties to accessing thesee mich needed services.
Over the years, banking services were unreachable for the rural communities however; this is now becoming a struggle of the past.
With a growing population seeing an increasing in demand for goods and services, banking services are important and are reaching the rural communities.
Recently, Oxfam had partnered with the Bank of Papua New Guinea’s Micro-finance Expansion Project (MEP) through a signed Memorandum of Understanding, to facilitate financial literacy training for rural communities engaged in smaller businesses.
The registration of these community groups is also part of the initiative to help rural communities access banking services.
According to Toppy Sundu, IRRM Manager, offering deposit and withdrawal services in the villages will enable the people to safely and easily access their bank accounts.
He further added that this initiative will help the locals to save more money they make, and also spend money within their community, than in the towns.
This will increase the village economy, added Mr. Sundu.
Supporting Mr. Sundu’s remarks, Lynn Ibu, the Senior Business Development officer for Oxfam, added that “supporting the community groups to be banking agents, will make banking services available to hundreds more people, and potentially thousands in the future”.
The registered community groups will be banking agents with Mibank and provide banking services to their respective communities.
Photo credit: John Paul Sundu
