Women’s Micro Bank Limited, rebranded as the Mama Bank, the only financial institution in Papua New Guinea with an explicit focus on women, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PNGX Markets, the PNG Digital ICT Cluster, and Emerging Venture Management (Unkapt) - together the proponents of the DEFINE Initiative. The MOU outlines areas of cooperation to deliver a number of DEFINE objectives, including new sources of funding to expand lending to women-led micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs).
One key objective of the DEFINE Initiative is to establish specialist MSME funding facilities for investments in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)-aligned private enterprises. There is a special focus on Women-led enterprises. Mama Bank is ideally positioned to work with the DEFINE Initiative to achieve this objective, to diversify its sources of capital, and to enhance its access to finance.
Licensed financial institutions (LFIs) operating in Papua New Guinea, such as Mama Bank, face several hurdles to secure long-term wholesale funding to finance their loans to clients. With over 60,000 clients, Mama Bank believes that working with the DEFINE Initiative to develop a Microfinance Collective Bond (MIC Bond) - a new form of financing for LFIs in PNG - will raise new wholesale funding. Other benefits will allow it to expand s lending to even more women-led enterprises in Papua New Guinea.
“We are very pleased to be working with all the stakeholders such as PNGX, PNG Digital ICT Cluster and Unkapt to create a conducive Microfinance sector for women in PNG. We believe women face a lot of challenges from every corner due to cultural barriers, access to finance, affordable finance. We believe this partnership will bring smiles to our women entrepreneurs” said Mama Bank Chairman Mr Ricky Mitio, OBE, ML.
“When a women smiles with economic empowerment it means the family smiles and thus whole country will prosper with economic empowerment. Together all stakeholders of DEFINE initiative will achieve this goal with an expanded approach” said Mr Gunanidhi Das, Chief Executive Officer of Mama Bank.
“We are very pleased to be working with Mama Bank to develop new financing opportunities to support Women-led enterprises” said PNGX Chairman Mr David Lawrence. “Together with Mama Bank we welcome other licensed micro-finance banks to join this important initiative to expand MSME financing capacity.”
“The relationship with Mama Bank and the development of the MIC Bond Program will be the catalyst for more financial innovation in PNG. This will include support for the proposed PNGX corporate debt market and new credit rating tools for LFIs to better manage their risks and reduce costs to borrowers” said Mr Lawrence.
