Women of Papua New Guinea in small business set-ups now have a better chance of accessing money to support their businesses after the signing of a funding agreement between the State and Women’s Micro Bank Limited (WMBL).
Under this Memorandum of Agreement, the Marape-Rosso Government is making available K30 million through the Department of Commerce and Industry to Women’s Micro Bank Ltd to support the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) specifically targeting women at the grassroots level.
Under this partnership, women and their immediate families can access start- up capital or money to continue financing their businesses through a credit scheme being offered by WMBL at affordable interest rates, backed by the K30 million government funding.
The MOA was signed by Governor-General, Sir Bob Dadae today (20.11.25) at Government House on behalf of the State, and Women’s Micro Bank; and witnessed by Prime Minister Hon. James Marape and his State ministers.
Prime Minister Marape highlighted the significance of the event, pointing out Government focus on driving up employment through nationwide financial inclusion and empowerment, and urged women to step forward and utilise the credit facility to their advantage.
He said, “I am pleased to witness small but significant moment.
“For me as the son of a mother who worked in the gardens and sat at the markets to make sure school fee was available for my education, I say there is a big potential in all our mothers right across the country.
“Mothers are hardworking. They are the backbone of families that constitute our country, numbering nearly 50 percent of our 10.1 million population.
“Stepping out of our 50th anniversary, we are now engaging with Women’s Micro Bank who will be lending money to our mothers, our women at a ‘wantok’ rate,” said PM Marape.
The Prime Minister said the partnership with WMBL is part of the focus of his government to financially empower a million citizens and create employment.
“The government’s focus on finding income-earning opportunities for 1 million Papua New Guineans; this is part of the program to link our families into eco nomically-productive activities. If we can get all our women into small income- earning activities, we will reach this target.
“Once you have a form of SME, the minimum lending is K300 to K5000. From there if you work well with your districts and province, you will migrate to the next layer of lending. We want to incubate many women-led businesses; and I urge women to show a keen interest in this space.”
The Prime Minister called on Papua New Guinean women and families to look into utilising this facility and start SMEs in areas such as agriculture, tourism, re- tail, fisheries, and others to empower themselves and support the economy of the country.
He said with the size of the PNG economy at K130 billion in 2025, a lot of opportunities are now available to those who are prepared to work and become financially independent.
Prime Minister Marape also acknowledged the work of his wife, Mrs Rachael Marape, who initiated financial strengthening projects for women in his district of Tari-Pori, and through these initiatives opened a WMB branch in Tari in 2024.
WMB, also known as Mama Bank, is the third bank the Marape-led Government has partnered with to avail funding support to SME development in PNG.
Bank South Pacific and National Development Bank (National Banking Corporation) are the first two, with the program running since 2022.
Women’s Micro Bank Ltd has branches and offices in 20 locations throughout the country.
Women’s Micro Bank Limited is a licensed micro-bank in PNG that focuses exclusively on women and their immediate families. It was established in 2014, is regulated by the Bank of PNG, and is the first and only financial institution with this specific focus in the country and the Pacific region. The bank offers a range of financial services, including microfinance, savings, loans, investments, and financial literacy training, to help empower women economically.