OREANDA-NEWS. Thousands of residents from Baiyer District in the Western Highlands and Yangoose Village in Tsak Valley in Enga Province took part in a graduation ceremony today for a financial literacy course supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, Loi Bakani, led the ceremony for the course, which is part of an ongoing Microfinance Expansion Project, while Rod Hilton, Minister-Counselor of the Australia High Commission, distributed certificates to the graduates. Other representatives from the Bank of Papua New Guinea, provincial governments, and the project steering committee also attended the event. 

“The Microfinance Expansion Project has enabled many low income earners to get access to finance for the first time and even to start micro- and small-business activities,” said Governor Bakani at the ceremony. “Our challenge is to keep expanding our financial literacy activities and to develop more innovative cost-effective delivery channels.”

The project is designed to increase financial inclusion in PNG, and is targeting financial literacy education for 130,000 people across the country by the end of 2017. It aims to support the financial and social empowerment of women, with 50% of today’s 7,000 graduates, women. 

The project was launched in April 2012, with Bank of Papua New Guinea as the executing agency and MicroSave as technical partner. The Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion was one of the key project outputs, and is the main agency for coordinating financial inclusion and financial education initiatives in PNG. 

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members–48 from the region. In 2014, ADB assistance totaled \\$22.9 billion, including cofinancing of \\$9.2 billion.