On 19th and 20th November, stakeholders promoting and driving financial inclusion in Papua New Guinea met to discuss the implications of a financial diaries study jointly carried out by Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP), the Bank of Papua New Guinea, and Microfinance Opportunities (MFO).
As the first study of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, the PNG Financial Diaries provides a unique, comprehensive view of livelihoods and transactions of respondents, collected through weekly interviews with an estimated 264 households over 44 weeks within three research sites (Goroka, Kimbe including Hoskins, and Port Moresby including the LNG plant at Lea Lea).
The most significant aspect of low income households is how much cash flows through their hands. The PNG Diaries is a longitudinal study which recorded data related to the inflows, outflows and events of people’s lives, in other words information on the people or organizations to/from which respondents give/receive.
This study could have potential implications for financial service providers and policymakers in Papua New Guinea as they work towards achieving the national financial inclusion target of one million by the end of 2015.
The two day workshops in Port Moresby were facilitated by Ramanathan Subramanian, the project lead from PFIP and Dr. Jonathan Sibley, Microfinance Opportunities lead consultant with the support of Robyn Robertson, Senior Technical Advisor Financial Capability Development from MFO.
The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) is a joint programme of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with additional funding support from Australian Government and the European Union/Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Microfinance Framework Programme (EU/ACP).
To read more about Financial Diaries: Portfolios of Low Income Households in Papua New Guinea visit MFO in the Field case studies.
