MiBank: Committed partnerships with BLP
Taking a step towards empowering SMEs to access financial and advisory services, MiBank has partnered with BLP to enhance the support they can offer to SMEs.
In an exciting partnership with BLP, financial institutions are able to showcase their products and services, improving SME access to finance. Addressing the immediate threats to SME survival, the programme provides sustainable mechanisms for Pacific Island SMEs to access the financial and advisory services they need to survive and prosper.
In our latest interview series, we speak to representatives from financial institutions to hear their unique views for the future of SMEs in the Pacific Islands, and specific innovations underway and in the planning stages.
Our first interview of this series is with MiBank CEO Tony Westaway who explains to us how MiBank came to focus on supplying the needs of those at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Often women. Women in the Pacific are often at a disadvantage because they are not used to being in control of businesses, and are uncomfortable seeking help, especially in business matters.
Just 10 years ago, only 25% of women had bank accounts in PNG. Committed to gender equality and social inclusion, and hoping to bridge this significant gap, MiBank developed a transaction solution MiCash, a bank account operated through a mobile phone, increasing the percentage to 38%. Following the bank’s positive discrimination policy and a concerted effort to combat unconscious bias bank-wide, this is now as high as 50%.
Research by Women’s World Banking validated MiBank’s long-held belief that gender-based violence is an impediment for women’s access to bank accounts. It is almost inconceivable in the developed world that access to banking could be restricted on a gender basis, but this has been the situation in PNG. This awareness has affected MiBank’s product development, focusing on SME capacity growth and development.
BLP’s new finance policy addresses crisis management through post-crisis recovery and rebuilding. Natural disasters are common in the South Pacific, and Tony believes the SME sector will bounce back:
COVID is just another natural disaster, and the Pacific people are a resilient lot. They have to survive to educate and feed their families,” says Tony.
Raising awareness in the SME sector has always been an issue for microbank MiBank because their focus is on grassroots people.
It’s expensive for a small bank to market its services and BLP’s new finance policy addresses that need. Accepting that Government support must cover immediate crisis funding, the bank and the SME must be in a committed partnership, each contributing to the success of the other.
If you are an SME with up to 50 employees and are looking for finance to help your business grow and prosper, visit finance.businesslinkpacific.com to find out more about the financial products and services we have to offer.
To learn more about this topic or how MiBank is helping grassroots people in PNG access finance and prepare for the future, check out our Podcast where we interview MiBank CEO, Tony Westaway here!