Business training in Papua New Guinea ‘non-existent’

Participants and trainers are all smiles after the graduation.-Pictures by MALUM NALU
Central provincial administration business development officerVictor Aite receives his certificate from SBDC managing director Diri Kobla
East New Britain provincial administration business development officer Pauline Wamoi receives her certificate from SBDC managing director Diri Kobla
Manus provincial administration business development officer Ikanau Posanau (with her baby) receives her certificate from SBDC managing director Diri Kobla

Small Business Development Corporation managing director Diri Kobla has admitted that business management training in Papua New Guinea is “non-existent”.
Mr Kobla made the admission at the graduation of business development officers (BDOs) from throughout PNG from an International Labour Organisation – Start Improve Your Business training of trainers and refresher training of trainers seminar at the Granville Hotel in Port Moresby last Friday.
ILO’s internationally-recognised SIYB is one of the few internationally-recognised business courses in PNG and is run by SBDC.
“Skilled business management training is non-existent,” Mr Kobla said.
He said many Papua New Guineans did not know very basic business skills such as simple bookkeeping and cash flow.
Furthermore, Mr Kobla added, after 35 years of independence and in line with its Vision 2050, the government was looking at ways to “create wealth”.
“How are we going to create wealth?” he posed to graduands.
“We want to follow the current government policy by following an established network.
“We want to upskill you with business training skills.
“The skills that you have learned are very important skills.
“The government has realised the importance of small business after 35 years of independence.”
Mr Kobla said ILO’s SIYB programme was recognised in 48 countries, including PNG, which had the benefit of four internationally-recognised master trainers who conducted the two-week seminar.
He appealed to provincial administrators to contribute by way of providing computers and other necessary items.
SIYB acting manager Peter Piawu described the two weeks as “very intense but very satisfying”.
“That is the key for any capacity building.”
Participant’ representative Medley Koito, who represents a non-government organisation from Arawa on Bougainville, said the challenge was now on them to deliver business training to rural areas of PNG.
“SBDC has left us with a challenge,” he said.
“We must go out and deliver what we have gained over the last two weeks: that is the challenge to all of us participants.
“People in the rural areas, the SMEs (small medium enterprises) need our efforts.”
The seminar was a capacity building training programme for provincial and district BDOs.
A total of over 30 provincial and district BDOs attended.
This seminar was a result of findings from the 2009 provincial commerce advisors conference in Alotau that identified many impediments that incapacitate BDOs in respective provinces to provide and deliver services for the development and growth of the SME sector in the provinces.
SBDC, as the lead implementing agency for SME development and growth in the country, took this initiative to up-skill the BDOs to:
• Effectively provide assistance to small business women and men to start and improve small-scale businesses;
• Participate actively in economic development projects; and
• Businesses and spin-off activities created by the large resource development projects.