Transcript
ERICA ANDOI: It should be a protected area for our people because our people make a living out of it. That becomes their bread and butter and their daily survival and I do not agree with outsiders coming to - bringing in fake - which is not made by our women, because we promote bilums and bilum wear and artefacts and everything which is done in the traditional way by women in the villages or urban areas, passing on their skills from one generation to generation. So if the Asians are making it using machinery and using it for mass marketing and undercutting in terms of price then I think the authorities need to step in.
MELVIN LEVONGO: Do you think the government should create legislation or a law to protect indigenous businesses and small SME's?
EA: Yes, I agree. For example, where we are interviewing now, the Pacific Women Network, it's a women's SME area and it is funded by a private individual. It's not government funded. It's not funded by any donor agencies but it's funded by a private individual who feels that the government is not doing enough for the women SME sector. And the SME sector is a very large sector, including the micro-enterprise sector. They are very large and they provide daily sustainability to our local families. So the government should review indigenous sects in other countries and then come up with a law, legislation, by law or something to protect our national trade.
ML: How's the market like in regards to selling your products abroad?
EA: We are now, with this particular set up, we are now looking at regional trade and then we'll look at international trade. So we want to bring, that's why we call it network, we want to network. Every woman to network across whatever they're segments, micro-segments are, to share information, to grow, to help them to promote themselves using the network.
ML: Are the banks helpful? With regards to promoting SME's?
EA: No they are not and I feel there's a long, long way to go. That's what the banking ombudsman, the government of the day, the donor agencies, the existing microbanks, they'll have to work together. Even the Agriculture Bank of Papua New Guinea which before now it was the National Development Bank. They themselves do not have the sort of flexible loans or customised loans, especially for agriculture sector. Which is the background of the majority of the people living in the rural area. So, I think there's a long way to go to come up with the proper SME bank which has got the ability because it's no use parking monies into commercial banks, so the commercial banks giving out loads according to the commercial loans .... so that doesn't suit us and they have to change the way they think, they have to raise the people on the ground, for potentional financial inclusiveness, I think there's a long way to go."
