PNG SME Magazine

27/11/2025

Cooperatives are built from simple beginnings — a voice, a gesture, a shared idea.

But what starts small grows into something that lasts.

The culturalheritage.coop reminds us that the practices and values created together don’t fade; they strengthen over time and shape the identity of communities across generations.

🔗 Discover more: https://culturalheritage.coop

27/11/2025

27/11/2025

From a K500 Phone to National Recognition: Tuli’s Journey |

In 2024, a content creator approached the PNG SME Awards with a bold request — to feature the Awards brand in a movie titled Ples Mahn. The storyline imagined a character - a role, portrayed by Tuliman winning an SME Award. For trademark reasons, the official logo was not used. Yet, in a remarkable twist of fate, just 12 months later, life imitated art: Tuli himself won an Award at the 6th Annual Ela Motors PNG SME Awards, taking home the Micro Enterprise Level - New Emerging Venture Category, sponsored by the Government’s SME Corporation.

This story is not about Ples Mahn. It is about Tuli — the young man who turned a simple Samsung A10s phone purchased from Digicel Alotau into the foundation of a digital content empire.

They say laughter is the best medicine, and Tuli’s skits have made Papua New Guinea’s online community laugh their hearts out. Yet, being popular online is one thing; converting that following into tangible cash flow and assets is another challenge altogether.

Many content creators struggle to monetize their fame. Tuli, however, broke through. He was engaged by brands such as Relaxo, Pepsi, Vivo, and others. Each skit, each corporate promo, added to his credibility. His decision to formally register Tuliman Entertainment Services with IPA gave him the structure to grow. With natural talent and discipline, he built his studio equipment and purchased his first car — milestones that marked his transition from entertainer to entrepreneur.

While his annual turnover may not yet exceed K200,000, Tuli’s digital content earned him the Best Emerging Venture in the Micro Category for 2025. He was nominated under the newly introduced Digital Content Creator Category, grouped with other emerging ventures such as:

- Impress Professional Services
- Valenie Quality Solutions
- EDM Goroka,
- J&E Elegance
- Pretty Gal Kitchen

Tuli topped the judges’ scoring based on:

- Steady Growth
- Community Impact
- Audience Reach
- Competitive Edge

His win reflects a broader shift in the Annual PNG SME Awards. Where micro‑enterprise, entries once focused on cottage industries, garments, and textiles, today they include ventures in digital content — fields once dominated by foreign enterprises. It is a sign that Papua New Guineans are reclaiming space in industries that are rightfully theirs.

Apart from the Digital Content Creator of the Year Category, the Awards created the Digital Music Award Category. Past nominees included Tonton Malele and Maimai Incorporated in 2024, though Tonton’s nomination stagnated due to other priorities. Wame Blood was also nominated in 2025, but like Tonton, his nomination did not progress.

The Awards will continue to make the Music Category available to ensure the music and arts industry is not left behind, and until these talents are taken seriously as a viable business model. This commitment reflects the Awards’ vision to nurture creative industries alongside traditional SMEs, recognizing their potential to drive cultural and economic growth in Papua New Guinea.

SME Corporation
Ela Motors PNG
Digicel
Digitec
Telikom Limited
PNG Dataco
National ICT Authority of Papua New Guinea
National Cultural Commission

26/11/2025

While many self-taught herbalists and small cottage industries draw on traditional botanical knowledge from everyday medicinal plants such as noni, moringa, papaya, turmeric, ginger, and coconut, Joyce Micheal has boldly ventured into the study of a far more complex plant—one whose extraction and application demand advanced scientific mastery.

The Cardiac Plant stands as a remarkable floral discovery, its delicate beauty concealing powerful pharmacological and toxicological properties that have fascinated scientists for generations. At the forefront of this exploration in Papua New Guinea is Joyce, a graduate chemist from Unitech, now based in Goroka and working in the UOG Laboratory.

As the visionary founder of Cardiac Organic Extract, she has ventured into a scientific and entrepreneurial space no other Papua New Guinean had imagined possible. Through complex extraction techniques, Joyce has unlocked the potential of the Cardiac Plant, transforming its potent compounds into innovative skin care and beauty products.

From humble beginnings in 2023 selling from home, Joyce Registered with the Investment Promotion Authority (IPA), and has steadily expanded her reach into the local Goroka market. With the support of social media, her Cardiac Organic brand is now shipped nationwide. She operates as a micro-enterprise - side hustle after hours while continues to balance her full-time laboratory work.

Her dedication was recognized when she was nominated for the MiBank Market Meri Award, a category designed to celebrate women entrepreneurs with formally registered businesses trading in local markets, online, or both.

The award category was originally tailored by former MiBank CEO Tony Westaway in collaboration with PNG SME Magazine and has been maintained by MiBank since 2021. At the 6th Annual Ela Motors SME Awards, Joyce Micheal proudly received the honor from current MiBank CEO Trudi Egi, marking a significant milestone in her journey as a pioneering businesswoman.

MiBank PNG
Ela Motors PNG

26/11/2025

Holiday Rental Kokopo began in 2023 with two holiday homes in Seaview, Takubar, East New Britain, built on a simple concept: a home away from home where guests could cook at their own pace and enjoy fresh produce from local markets and seaside harvests. By 2024, the addition of a property in Backstreet, Kenabot expanded capacity to welcome more families and corporate clients, complemented by a 15‑seater air‑conditioned van offering airport transfers, site visits, and shopping trips.

Operator Shona Tata shared that in 2025, her focus shifted to upgrading properties with modern amenities and sustainable solutions to ensure services remain attractive and resilient. Every step of expansion has been achieved in partnership with local tradesmen and suppliers, keeping operations community‑focused while steadily growing reach.

As a woman‑led business, Shona emphasizes genuine care, creativity, and passion, guided by the motto “Meet as Strangers, Leave as Friends.” This approach has delivered not just accommodation and transport, but memorable, authentic experiences.

Leveraging Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp as primary booking platforms has given the business a strong e‑commerce edge, driving growth from 45 bookings in 2023 to around 70 in 2024, boosted by repeat guests, stronger social media engagement, and the arrival of corporate clients.

In recognition of this success, Holiday Rental Kokopo was honored with the 2025 Credit Corporation Excellence in E‑Commerce Award at the Annual Ela Motors SME Awards, an honor previously sponsored by Digicel (2021), Vodafone (2022), and Kina Bank (2023–2024) before being adopted by Credit Corporation in 2025.

DataReportal estimates that in 2025 Papua New Guinea had around 1.4 million Facebook users, 1.2 million WhatsApp users, and 1.0 million TikTok users — a combined audience of nearly 3.7 million people. With a national population of about 10.5 million, this means close to one‑third of Papua New Guineans are active on these platforms. The rapid rise of social media is fueled by mobile‑first internet access and increasingly affordable data bundles. For businesses and SMEs in Kokopo, Port Moresby, and Lae, these platforms have become essential tools for e‑commerce, marketing, and direct customer engagement, driving both visibility and growth.

Ela Motors PNG
Credit Corporation
SME Corporation

25/11/2025

With a year before the Government predicts its first operating surplus in over a decade, the budget’s key question remains: ‘can it succeed?’

The answer is unclear. While parts of the budget reflect realism, aspects like strong revenue growth projections seem optimistic.

Projected economic growth is strong at 4% in 2026, slightly down from 4.5% in 2025. Such growth would be enviable among advanced economies, but translating this into government revenue and achieving a surplus depends on various factors that drive government
income.

Revenue growth is expected to jump 15.3% in 2026, surpassing both GDP and expenditure growth - the latter projected at 9%. The anticipated K5.4 billion revenue increase hinges on realizing higher taxes and dividends from resource extraction, incomes, profits, and capital gains. This is a bold projection in a period of elevated global uncertainty. Conversely, GST collections are expected to fall, possibly due to extending exemptions for essential goods until the end of 2026.

Expenditure growth focuses on enhancing essential services, including security, education, health, and agriculture.

The wild card is the proposal for a new path to debt repayment, offering the option of lower future surpluses in return for almost triple the funding for the PIP. This would result in debt to GDP of 20 per cent by 2034, up from the planned 0 per cent.

Whether this option can be achieved all comes down to finding the balance between achieving the Government’s development goals and sustainably funding them.

Read PwC's full 2026 Budget Insights publication by downloading it from https://lnkd.in/ghMg_rsv

The 2026 Budget infographic is attached.

PwC Papua New Guinea |

25/11/2025

EU, Danish Diplomats Commend Sepik Progress |

Senior diplomats from the European Union and Denmark have praised the impact of the EU‑STREIT PNG Programme during a field mission to cocoa and vanilla communities in the Sepik region. Ambassadors Erika Hasznos (EU) and Sten Frimodt Nielsen (Denmark) toured production sites, processing facilities, and rehabilitated infrastructure, witnessing how EU support is helping smallholders move beyond subsistence, build viable agribusinesses, and create new opportunities for women and youth.

In Hambraure and Marik villages, the delegation met farmers and entrepreneurs benefiting from improved husbandry, post‑harvest practices, and market access, resulting in premium‑quality beans and more stable incomes. Ambassador Nielsen noted the programme’s influence extends beyond crops, inspiring innovation and community spirit among youth and women.

The mission also highlighted restored infrastructure, including the Yawasoro–Nienwanjie Road linking over 2,200 households to markets and services, and the upgraded Hawaiin Cocoa Nursery providing training and quality planting materials. At a wrap‑up briefing, stakeholders emphasized sustainability, local ownership, and stronger market linkages as the programme enters its final phase, consolidating five years of progress in revitalizing cocoa, vanilla, and fisheries value chains across the Greater Sepik region.

EU International Partnerships
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
UNDP in Papua New Guinea

24/11/2025

Since the launch of Australia’s Kava Pilot Program in 2019, cumulative imports continue to build - with strong momentum through 2025.

In Q3 2025, Australia imported 44,027 kg of kava, a 5.9 per cent increase on the previous quarter. This brings total imports for the year to 120,147 kg, taking cumulative volumes under the Pilot Program to just under 585,000 kg.

Vanuatu’s steady rise is the standout trend this year, with volumes increasing each quarter and positioning it as the second-largest supplier in 2025. Fiji remains the most consistent contributor, supplying the highest volumes each quarter from the widest exporter base. Tonga has shipped comparatively modest volumes this year, while New Zealand continues to feature in a redistribution capacity, and the Solomon Islands recorded its first shipment of 2025. The data points to a growing and increasingly diverse supplier landscape across our region.

View the full Q3 Kava Pilot Program Report here: https://pti.mobi/kava_q3

Interested in exporting kava? Connect with PTI Australia: https://lnkd.in/gPpTmGMb

24/11/2025

Govenor Allan Bird writes...

We expect around 20 Chocolatuers will be attending the event next year. The winners will secure export markets as a prize.

Come support us build niche markets and export opportunities for our cocoa producers.

23/11/2025

Tali's Pharmacy

The PNG SME Awards proudly acknowledge Sir Mahesh Patel and City Pharmacy for their continued support since 2022. The inaugural Westpac PNG honouree in 2021 was Dr. Kapua Jnr. Subsequent City Pharmacy honourees have included 4 Mile Medical Centre (2022), Star Optical (2023), Hope Essence Dental Clinic (2024), and Tali’s Pharmacy (2025).

City Pharmacy PNG
UNDP in Papua New Guinea
UN Women Papua New Guinea
Ela Motors PNG
Westpac PNG

23/11/2025

Kina Bank’s new Personal Online Banking is Now Live!

Enjoy a sleek, secure, and smarter way to bank – transfer funds, top-up, and manage accounts all in one place.

✅ Access now online: Kina Personal Online Banking or download the Kina Personal mobile app from Play Store and App Store today.

🔐 Existing users: Complete your First-Time Login with your current credentials.

Visit our website for Guides & FAQs. Smarter banking starts now!

Our Contact Centre support hours have been extended to 10pm.
Our team is on standby to assist customers who call +675 180 1525 or 308 3800, or email us at [email protected]

Kina Bank