PNG SME Magazine

17/07/2025

Des Yaninen | Tisa Bank SME Business Breakfast | Unresolved Challenges, Call for Decisive Action

1. ILG COT Complexities
2. Invoice Trading Bottlenecks
3. Misaligned Mandate - Call to Support SMEC
4. Exclusion of Additonal Banks Stifles Credit Distribution

SME Corporation
MSME Council
PNG SME Magazine
Credit Guarantee Corporation PNG

13/07/2025

https://youtu.be/pDLbJ2Zd8as?si=v4l2k6ZDM7yhXV1E

The 7th Annual Tisa Bank SME Business Breakfast is a flagship event in Papua New Guinea that commemorates Global Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Day on Ju...

13/07/2025

Congratulations ODESH Group

PNG’s first SOLAR Electric Vehicles |
Solar panels inbuilt-in to harness the power of the sun.

The launching at ODESH Motors Showroom in July.

ODESH Group |
Winner of the 2021 Kina Bank e-commerce SME Award and Winner of the 2023 MoniPlus Transport Service SME Award

12/07/2025

Support Barata!

10/07/2025

No classrooms, no limits. Just flexible, practical training you can do anytime.

SME Corporation and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Start Your Business Correspondence Program offers flexible, self-paced training—built for your schedule, your ambition, and your goals. Learn whenever and wherever it suits you, and submit your work on your own time.

Join the growing list of success stories.

Reach out to SME Corporation today.

09/07/2025

3rd Annual LaeAgriTradeExpo July 3-4, 2025 | Dhennie Benson | Championing Inclusive Communication

Dhennie Benson is the Secretary General of Papua New Guinea’s National Cooperatives Secretariat. With a master’s degree in Cooperative Economics from Philps University in Germany, he brings a global perspective to grassroots development.

In his public engagements, Dhennie emphasizes that illiterate and semi-literate communities are primarily visual and auditory learners. He’s known for his ability to translate complex economic concepts into farmer-friendly language, using storytelling, imagery, and spoken word techniques to reshape mindsets and embed cooperative values. His mission is clear: build economic understanding from the ground up, one farmer at a time.

Dhennie’s communication style is not just accessible—it’s transformative, helping rural communities across PNG engage more deeply in cooperative business models and long-term sustainability.

09/07/2025

LaeAgriTrade Expo | Dr. Pavel Burian | Why the Power of Cooperatives Outperforms Ad hoc Individualism

EU-STREIT PNG & the AgriTrade Expo: Empowering Cooperatives, Transforming Markets

Since 2024, the EU-STREIT PNG Programme—the European Union’s largest grant-funded initiative in the Pacific—has played a pivotal role in elevating the AgriTrade Expo into a national platform for rural transformation. Implemented by the FAO and other UN agencies, the programme focuses on strengthening value chains in cocoa, vanilla, and fisheries across East and West Sepik.

At the Expo, EU-STREIT PNG has:

- Showcased agripreneurs and cooperatives from the Sepik region
- Facilitated market access for rural producers
- Promoted climate-resilient infrastructure, digital tools, and financial inclusion
- Supported the integration of women and youth into agri-business

Dr. Pavel Burian is the Deputy Programme Coordinator – EU-STREIT PNG. He is a seasoned development strategist and the Deputy Programme Coordinator of the EU-STREIT PNG Programme. With a background in agricultural economics and rural development, Dr. Burian has been instrumental in promoting cooperative-based models as the most effective route to market for smallholder farmers.

He emphasizes that cooperatives offer structure, scale, and sustainability, while individual, ad hoc selling often leads to:

- Inconsistent quality
- Low bargaining power
- Fragmented market access

In contrast, cooperatives:

- Aggregate production for bulk sales and better pricing
- Enable shared infrastructure like fermentaries and transport
- Provide training, finance, and governance support
- Build trust and traceability in global markets

“Cooperatives are not just a business model—they are a movement for rural empowerment and economic justice,” says Dr. Burian

International Cooperative Alliance
Coffee Industry Corporation Limited
Kokonas Indastri Koporesen of Papua New Guinea
PACD- Cocoa Component

08/07/2025

3rd Annual LaeAgriTradeExpo July 3-4, 2025, |
Jonathan Inapelo, Vice President, Highlands Region – Cooperatives Secretariat | Championing Climate Resilience Through Cooperatives

Jonathan is a passionate advocate for sustainable rural development and cooperative empowerment in Papua New Guinea. At the 2025 Lae AgriTrade Expo, Inapelo led a compelling discussion on the intersection of climate change, reforestation, and coffee rehabilitation in the Highlands region.

He emphasized the urgent need for climate-smart agricultural practices, highlighting how reforestation efforts and the revitalization of aging coffee plantations can restore both environmental balance and economic vitality for smallholder farmers.

Inapelo called for stronger support mechanisms for cooperatives, positioning them as key vehicles for climate adaptation, income stability, and long-term agricultural resilience. His message was clear: empowering cooperatives is not just good policy—it’s essential for safeguarding PNG’s agricultural future.

Coffee Industry Corporation Limited
PPAP Coffee Component
International Cooperative Alliance
World Bank Pacific
PACD- Cocoa Component

07/07/2025

3rd Annual LaeAgriTradeExpo July 3-4, 2025, |
Noah Taugaloidi, Vice President, Southern Region – Cooperatives Secretariat | A New Era of Cooperatives Through Integrated Innovation

Noah Taugaloidi is a visionary entrepreneur and cooperative leader from Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. As the Vice President for the Southern Region of the Cooperatives Secretariat, Noah plays a pivotal role in shaping national cooperative policy and advocating for inclusive rural development.

Driven by a deep commitment to grassroots empowerment, Noah founded the BOU Resource Development Cooperative Society in 2019. What began with a “bag full of dreams and no money” has grown into a thriving rural enterprise representing over 10,000 farmers across cocoa, copra, coffee, spices, and aquaculture.

BOU Resource Cooperative is built on a hybrid integration model that Noah calls the Accelerated Co-op Enterprises (ACE) approach. This model:

- Combines production, processing, and marketing under one cooperative umbrella

- Encourages organic agriculture, inland fish farming, and value-added products like virgin coconut oil

- Promotes self-reliance and sustainability in rural communities

- Operates through a management company (Bou Resource Development Society) to ensure professional oversight and scalability3

The cooperative has planted over 27,000 cocoa trees, expanded into vanilla and tilapia farming, and is actively building market access for rural producers.

Noah is a passionate advocate for the revitalization of cooperatives in PNG. He believes that cooperatives are not just business models—they are vehicles for economic justice, rural inclusion, and national development. His work has been recognized with the PNG SME Business of the Year Award, and his cooperative model has been presented at national policy forums.

International Cooperative Alliance
Kokonas Indastri Koporesen of Papua New Guinea
Coffee Industry Corporation Limited
National Fisheries Authority, Papua New Guinea - NFA
Milne Bay SME Inc.
BOU RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LTD

07/07/2025

3rd Annual LaeAgriTradeExpo July 3-4, 2025, |
Stewardship & Sustainability: Tanalau’s Coconut Downstream Processing Vision

Joseph Tanalau, Cooperatives Secretariate Vice President (NGI), champions land stewardship and calls to protect coconut growing tradition, empower communities, and unlock economic potential.



Kokonas Indastri Koporesen of Papua New Guinea
International Cooperative Alliance

06/07/2025

3rd Annual LaeAgriTradeExpo July 3-4, 2025, |
Jeffrey Singer: The Future of Tisa Bank's Agri-Finance for Cooperatives at the LaeAgriTradeExpo

Over 200 cooperatives and agripreneurs participated in the 2025 edition, alongside key partners like the EU-STREIT PNG Program, Tisa Bank, and Farmset. Agricultural finance is undergoing a transformation, especially for smallholder farmers and Agri-SMEs who have long been underserved by traditional banks. Events like the Lae AgriTrade Expo are crucial for bridging the gap between rural producers and modern finance, ensuring that agriculture becomes a driver of inclusive economic growth.


International Cooperative Alliance
Coffee Industry Corporation Limited
Kokonas Indastri Koporesen of Papua New Guinea

01/07/2025

3rd Annual LaeAgriTradeExpo
July 3-4, 2025