Two hundred participants are expected to take part in the Financial Inclusion Innovation Summit in a few days’ time.
Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, Loi Bakani, said the Summit will cover a wide range of topics on finance, including workshops and discussions on innovations that will help the country’s large number of unbanked citizens.
Among the topics is blockchain – currently a hot favourite in the financial world where according to experts, would benefit Papua New Guineans at a greater scale, and as far as financial inclusion is concerned.
Financial inclusion of the unbanked in Papua New Guinea stood at 80 percent of the population, but that number is slowly decreasing since the financial inclusion program took off with the first strategic plan.
“Our second financial inclusion strategic plan on financial inclusion is working and has helped reduce the 80 percent unbanked population, to about 70 or 72 per cent,” Governor Bakani said.
He said the collaboration with the Centre for Excellence on Financial Inclusion has seen a lot achieved in financial inclusion, and the Summit is only added effort to tap into innovations that would assist PNG’s financial inclusion efforts even more.
“Only recently telecommunications has allowed us to help our unbanked population. The Financial Inclusion Innovation Summit will bring in more experts who can help us understand what other innovations there are that we can look at as well to reduce the figure of unbanked population.”
The three-day event is scheduled for August 29 to 31 at the Stanley Hotel in Port Moresby.
(Loop file pic)