On 14^th June 2022, UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) organized a partner roundtable to improve the adoption of financial services in agricultural value chains. The roundtable was organized under the Support to Rural Enterprise Investment and Trade (STREIT) project funded by the European Union. The round table was attended by senior managers of project partners, which include Mi Bank, Digicel Financial Services Ltd, Women’s Micro Bank and representatives of FAO and ITU.

STREIT in Papua New Guinea is the largest grant-funded programme of the European Union in the country and the Pacific region. The Programme aims to improve the lives of the people from East Sepik and Sandaun provinces by focusing on increasing sustainable and inclusive economic development of the cocoa, vanilla and fishery value chains while strengthening and improving the efficiency of value chain enablers, including the business environment and supporting sustainable, climate-proof transport and energy infrastructure development.

During the roundtable meeting, the private sector actors shared their experience, knowledge, and insights gained since the start of the project in 2020. The meeting started with a welcome address by UNCDF Country Lead Mr Jagdeep Dahiya. Brief presentations were made by Mr Sharad Bangari (UNCDF), Mr Emile Tuzayana Zola (DFSL), Mr Steven Eremen and Mr Trudi Egi (Mi Bank), and Mr Prabhash Ranjan (WMBL). The opening remarks were followed by an open discussion and deliberations on the common challenges faced by all partners. FAO representative Mr Rabi Rasaily provided valuable insights on the local challenges and the support FAO can provide.

The discussions from the meeting identified multiple opportunities for participants to work more coherently towards improving the availability and usage of financial services for cocoa, vanilla and fish producers in East Sepik and Sandaun provinces of PNG. Partners unanimously agreed to collaborate on sharing the best practices and ensuring uniformity and consistency in their messaging and communications for the target population.

STREIT project is being implemented as a United Nations Joint Programme led by FAO and implemented by ILO, ITU, UNCDF, and UNDP as implementing partners. The project has been continuously engaging with the private sector, regulators and the government to scale up the digital finance eco-system for the targeted agricultural value chains.