MiBank and Saver.Global, with the support of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) under the EU STREIT Programme, are proud to announce a major initiative aimed at improving financial inclusion for smallholder vanilla farmers in Papua New Guinea’s Sepik Province. This partnership is part of the broader ‘Enhancing Access to Finance for the Agri Value Chains in PNG’ programme.

The recently launched UNCDF PNG report, ‘Assessing Digital and Financial Literacy in PNG’, found that 62% of respondents had access to Smartphones, with 7 in 10 Papua New Guineans aged 15-27 using a smartphone daily. Against this background, the initiative will deliver targeted digital financial literacy (DFL) training to support smallholders—particularly women farmers—in better understanding savings, loans, and microfinance. The project will also introduce MiBank’s digital financial products to hundreds of new users across the region.

Currently in its research and development phase, the DFL courses will cover:

• Microfinance fundamentals
• Safe loan practices
• Savings strategies
• Training-of-trainer modules for MiBank’s regional agents

Over the course of a three-month deployment, MiBank aims to train a minimum of 1,000 smallholder vanilla farmers, including a significant proportion of women and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The goal is to onboard at least 500 new savings and credit account holders to MiBank’s existing services, which are well-suited to meet the needs of remote farming communities.

“Financial literacy is the foundation of economic empowerment. By leveraging MiBank’s extensive network and trained agents across the Sepik Province, this partnership with Saver.Global will help accelerate the uptake of savings and loan products among smallholder farmers—particularly women. Empowering farmers with the skills to manage their finances more effectively will not only support individual growth but also foster sustainable development within their communities.” – Fulaiyo James, Chief Operating Officer, Nationwide Microbank Ltd.

The training will be delivered in partnership with local agents across East and West Sepik and tailored to the specific needs of vanilla farmers in the value chain.

This collaboration underscores the commitment of all partners to drive rural financial inclusion, improve access to financial tools, and support the long-term sustainability of PNG’s agricultural sector.

This project is supported by UNCDF with funding support from the EU STREIT programme. The EU-STREIT PNG Programme is an EU initiative focused on supporting economic growth in Papua New Guinea’s Sepik region.