Caption: Certificate
recipients posing with their ABV mentors and ICT cluster volunteers.
By MATTHEW VARI
Young upcoming ICT (Information and Communication Technology) business men and women were the proud recipients of certification from Australian development agency, Australian Business Volunteers (ABV), under its Youth Enterprise Scheme (YES) on Monday last week.
Run for a month, a total 10 existing business and startup business men and women running companies to provide ICT services undertook the course through the PNG ICT Cluster initiative which started in March 2014 encouraging the growth of ICT based businesses in the country.
Executive Member of the PNG ICT Cluster and certificate recipient, Winifred Kula Amini, thanked the ABV who had provided experienced Australian business mentors to undertake YES program in the country.
The PNG ICT Cluster was born out of a European Union funded project (BizClim), which supports growth in the private sector, under the pacific initiative to pilot cluster initiatives.
“The cluster initiative looks at creating positive economic growth through a collective approach in ICTs sector,” Amini said.
“Cluster initiatives have been piloted in the region in Tonga, PNG, Samoa, and Vanuatu, and PNG selected ICT as the industry to build through clustering.”
“Most people think that clusters are made up of an industry, but actually it is firms of organizations that work together- at the same time compete with each other.”
Amini said that the aim of the cluster initiative in the country is to become the Silicone Valley of the Pacific- adding that in the next three to four years the group plans to double the revenues of existing startups in the initiative.
“One of the things that we have recognized is that we do have technology startups but one of the things is that to be successful in business is to have the right people skills,” she said.
“Our first step is to provide mentorship programs especially in business, financing, and marketing skills for IT startups.”
Partnership Program Manager for ABV, Simon Watson congratulated the participants for achievement over the month long course.
“ABV is an Australian international development agency which undertakes its mission through volunteers who come over to share their skills and fuel the capacity of the private sector,” Watson said.
“The YES program is one of our highlight programs; it is really a one month focus on the SME (Small to Medium Enterprise) with practical parts that include one-on-one mentoring.”
“We are pleased to be supporting the SME sector and the ICT cluster within PNG.”
The course runs for four weeks, beginning with 5 days of classroom based training and the rest of the course duration consisting of one-on-one mentoring.
“This is first time in the last few years, since the last one was held in 2007, and we are still working on plans to conduct more workshops either late this year or early next year,” Watson added.
He said that they were now working with other partners to work with- citing an existing agreement with the East New Britain Provincial Government to conduct a similar meet.
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