USAID’s Lukautim Graun Program Teams with Center of Excellence for Financial Inclusion to Graduate 21 Financial Literacy trainers in Eastern Highlands Province
News Highlights April 22, 2022
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Papua New Guinea Lukautim Graun Program (LGP) in Papua New Guinea (PNG), works in partnership with Center for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI) to deliver financial literacy training to people in rural and remote communities in the six provinces in PNG. These include Eastern Highlands, Jiwaka, Madang, Milne Bay, Morobe and Chimbu provinces.
On April 22, USAID’s LGP and CEFI teamed up to graduate twenty-one participants as new financial literacy trainers through a five-day financial literacy ‘training of trainers’ program in Goroka, Eastern Highlands province. USAID partners with CEFI to graduate trainers in the basics of teaching rural and remote community members about saving, budgeting, and online digital finance. Learning these skills are the foundation for creation of new enterprises and increasing household and personal financial security, particularly women.
USAID’s LGP also delivered similar training in Jiwaka province and soon will roll out financial literacy training in the Madang, Milne Bay, Morobe and Simbu provinces with an estimated total of 150 trainers graduating across all provinces. In return for the training, each trainer commits to train at least 50 other individuals in their respective provinces and communities resulting in an estimated 7500 people across the six provinces with new skills in household and personal financial literacy. Participants in the financial literacy training are given the opportunity to access banking services and the option to open bank accounts after the conclusion of each training session in cooperation with MiBank. MiBank, USAID, and the US International Development Finance Corporation recently signed a new Loan Guarantee Program agreement specifically targeting women and men in rural and remote areas. Women’s groups, women leaders, small to medium enterprises, faith-based organizations, and community-based conservation organizations will now receive training and will be able to register as banking agents to facilitate access to new digital financial services through mobile phones.
Bethel Benson, Assistant Marketing Coordinator for Mama Bank, a national micro-finance bank focused on supporting women said, “I think this training has made me a better trainer and the training manuals make it simple to understand how saving and budgeting works. With this material I can easily teach my members of my communities and through my work. I plan on teaching people from my women’s group, local church group, Mama Bank customers, and my work colleagues.”
Damien Paul, a local farmer who operates a small organic grape farm in Eastern Highlands said the training has given him confidence to effectively teach other people in his community about financial planning, saving, and budgeting to grow their small business. “Thank-you to USAID and CEFI for this training, it has helped build my confidence and knowledge to teach others in my village and help them improve their business and their lives.”
LGP and the Center of Excellence for Financial Inclusion (CEFI) work together to support USAID’s commitment to provide financial literacy training to at least 1000 entrepreneurs, family business representatives, and women in Papua New Guinea so they can fully participate in the formal economy and access financial services like banking and small-scale village saving and loan schemes. USAID and its implementing partners are empowering people in rural communities to access economic opportunities that improve their livelihood prospects which reduces pressure on forest resources and helps protect Papua New Guinea’s rich biodiversity for future generations.
Improving the economic empowerment of rural and remote communities by providing livelihood opportunities decreases their reliance on destructive resource use which helps to reduce the threat to biodiversity in PNG. “Without other livelihood opportunities, communities are more likely to overuse or convert their current natural resources to meet current needs at the risk of future generations,” says Maurice Knight, Chief USAID’s LGP. “With support from USAID and the American People, we are introducing new skills and opportunities to avoid negative impacts now and, in the future,” he continued.
Led by Cardno International Development, USAID’s PNG Lukautim Graun Program works in partnership PNG governments, and a range of implementing partners including Care International, CEFI, Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights (CELCOR), The Nature Conservancy, the PNG Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program, the Research and Conservation Foundation, the Woodland Park Zoo, the Wildlife Conservation Program. In addition, LGP also works with private sector, faith-based organizations, and civil society organizations. The overall objective of USAID’s LGP program is to empower traditional landowners to sustainably manage their resources and particularly to economically empower women as full participants in PNG’s economy. “Only by achieving these goals can PNG protect and restore biodiversity and natural habitats now so that current generations can meet their needs without endangering the ability of future generations to meet theirs”, says Mr. Knight. ‘Lukautim Graun’ means protect the environment in PNG’s Tok Pisin language.
