VILLAGE WOMEN'S BANKING PROGRAM (VWBP)

for village women entrepreneurs' access to credits, savings, and other financial products and services. Transformed to Village Women's Financial Services Ltd. Blended Finance for Community Commodity Finance (CCF). Lending to Women owned/led SMEs, agri-businesses, and natural resources extraction and processing local companies.

Village Women's Financial Services Ltd is recognized by the Bank of Papua New Guinea as a Participating Financial Institution (PFI) in the Microfinance Expansion Project funded by the ADB, Government of Australia, and PNG Government, implemented from 2011 to 2016. VWFS Ltd is preparing to become a micro-bank as guided by the BPNG. PsAfRD ,the parent not-for-profit organization, that designed the VWBP, has learnt substantial lessons, challenges, and developed deeply tested best practices in trying to serve the poor village women from 2009 to 2017. A total of 5,000 village women were reached. A total of 6,500 micro- to small loans were disbursed , totaling US$2.38m. The participant observational study indicated the evidence of poor women's  demand for a suitable financial system made available to them to access financial services to experience the institutional compliance to lending and savings policies. A need for loans without collateral was observed. The system of collateral integrated into the farmers' assets along the supply chain. VWFS Ltd plans to create the Community Commodity Finance (CCF) to fund local companies which are to unable access formal bank credits. Credits attached to commodities like coffee, gold, timber, trees, retail SMEs, and fisheries can be supported. 

VWFS is exploring a new financial market, competition free, because its a no-go-zone for the formal banks and non-bank financial institutions. It is an emerging market with potentiality to expand as population growth is uncontrollable.

Networks

PsAfRD 300 CBO affiliates:

3,000 Smallholder Village Coffee Farmers

5,000 Village Women's Banking Program Clients 

Land and Forests Ownership : The indigenous people own  land and forests. These forests are vulnerable to deforestation and biodiversity destruction. The people depended on their forests for their livelihoods. They want partners to help them build their capacity, scientifically and technically, to practice sustainable forestry. Papua New Guinea has the third largest natural tropical rain forest reserve and needs collective efforts to restore and protect these forests for global benefits. There are some 1,000 tribal forests to be conserved for climate change mitigation. 

Marine Products 

Minerals Deposits and Alluvial Gold Mining