The DEFINE Initiative has trained over 400 women entrepreneurs and provides more training opportunities in November.
Women’s entrepreneurship is increasingly understood to be a key driver of economic growth and job creation.
Diverse factors influence the opportunities available to women entrepreneurs. These include women’s legal rights, access to education, and national family leave policies. The influence of cultural norms may also have an impact.
Research shows that many roadblocks preventing women from achieving their entrepreneurial potential are rooted in social norms and customary practices that prescribe how much capital, time, and autonomy a woman is able to devote to entrepreneurial activities. Entrepreneurial motivation— the driving force behind one’s work ethic and business decisions— is also an important factor shaping the outcomes for women-owned businesses.
Launched in August 2022, the DEFINE Skills 2022 program, under the DEFINE Initiative, is helping to unleash Papua New Guinea’s businesswomen’s talent as entrepreneurs by boosting opportunities to address the challenges and provide motivation to effectively grow their businesses.
The DEFINE Skills program is based on research about the challenges for PNG women entrepreneurs and possible solutions.
“Giving women faster and more effective digital skills such as making and taking orders online and effectively marketing their products and services, can help overcome some of these challenges” said Priscilla Kevin, PNG ICT Cluster.
The program trains women entrepreneurs how to adopt improved business practices. It enhances business, digital, and financial literacy skills to better market, operate, and access finance for the businesses.
“Embracing new digital skills is an effective way to work more efficiently, narrow the current gender gaps in the labour market, and contribute to inclusive growth in PNG” said PNGX Markets Limited General Manager, Ms. Elizabeth Wamsa.
The program targets micro, informal and formal businesses and solo traders, and has successfully run six workshops, both face-to-face and online, for emerging and established women-led businesses.
Among the diverse mix of women-led business participants who have received training were women market traders, business owners in the fisheries sector, computer science graduates, a lawyer and parliamentarian.
Leading women entrepreneurs from the region have addressed the trainees and inspired and motivated them with their impressive success stories. The comprehensive and tailored business and digital skills program also helps businesswomen to be a part of an incredible entrepreneurs’ network in PNG and the Pacific.
Stakeholders are helping to support online access - Telikom provided 8 tablets and Vodafone provided WIFI packages. Country Women’s Association has supported the program with access to its venue. Digicel Cellmoni, Mibank, and Vodafone have hosted special booths for businesswomen to learn about and to try digital gadgets, whilst BSP Financial Group has assisted women to open up digital channels and accounts.
The next free intermediate level 3-day workshop starts on 10 November. Application for this workshop is at www.defineinitiative.org.
A Demonstration Day to be held in late November will showcase women-led businesses and provide opportunities for financiers, potential partners and others to work further with them. Details for Demo Day and registration will be available on the DEFINE Initiative website and Facebook sites soon.
The DEFINE Initiative is a collaboration of three core proponents – PNGX Markets, PNG Digital ICT Cluster; and Unkapt and is supported of the SME Corporation, Vodafone PNG and Telikom PNG. The program is partly funded by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) under their Rapid Finance Facility (RFF) project. The Initiative is gathering partners and supporters and is building an enabling environment for women-led businesses in PNG to grow and prosper. DEFINE Initiative and its partners and numerous stakeholders are hopeful of fostering a more sustainable environment for women entrepreneurs to generate more opportunities for women in PNG and to help build the economy and meet new challenges as it transitions out of the impact of COVID.
