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Providing greater access to finance, especially in rural areas, and improving financial solutions offered to the unbanked, has been a hot topic for many years already. In July 2009, FDC has been contracted by the Porgera Environmental Advisory Komiti (PEAK) to conduct a Business Models for Financial Services (BMFS) assessment. The objective of the BMFS assessment was to document and evaluate business models for financial services available in Papua New Guinea and beyond in order to make recommendations to PEAK and the Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) regarding potential actions that could improve the access to financial services for the currently unbanked population in Porgera Valley. The information presented in the final paper, submitted in November 2009, has been gathered from both secondary (i.e. desktop research) and primary (i.e. one-on-one meetings and interviews with various stakeholders) sources. The final implementation strategy recommended was based on two options, a “bottom-up” and “top-down” approaches, which could be implemented jointly or seperately. The “bottom-up” approach aims to empower the communities by developing and strengthening existing community groups or associations by providing them with i) a range of necessary financial services and technical assistance to the local communities, especially a means for saving and depositing money and ii) investment options to support the sustainable development of the community. The “top-down” approach aims to maximise the outreach of financial services to the unbanked in Porgera through a mobile phone banking model, based on the development of a solid partnership structure.

Mr. Jamil Goheer, who, earlier in the year completed an internship with FDC through the Endeavour Executive Award, entered his project, The Cultural Classics, in The Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship (FYSE) competition. The FYSE Competion targets social change makers from Asia and Mr Goheer project was selected amongst a group from Pakistan. The objective of Cultural Classics is to empower the underprivileged rural and remote handicraft manufacturer communities in Pakistan. During his internship at FDC, Jamil conducted research to explore ways to empower these artisans and develop a model so that their entire supply chain can be leveraged through process optimization, information access and use of Information and Communication technologies (ICTs). FDC is proud to have shared its expertise in support of the development of the Cultural Classics project and congratulates him on having won the FYSE100 award. See Jamil’s profile at, http://www.paragon100.asia/index.php/component/content/article/53-pakistan/118-muhammad-jamil-anwar

From October 14 to 16 2009 FDC held a Disaster Risk Management (DRM) workshop in Port Moresby, PNG in partnership with TorqAid. The workshop included participants from a range of local and international organisations such as the PNG National Disaster Center, AusAID, World Vision and HOPE Worldwide. PNG is vulnerable to a number of both natural and man-made disasters such as those caused by volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, flooding, HIV/AIDS and climate change. The workshop focused on methods to evaluate and strengthen DRM and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) initiatives through all stages of project development and implementation.

Ten women participating in FDC’s Bottom-up Governance Leadership Program for Women in the Pacific (BGLP), arrived in Brisbane on 14 September to attend a study tour and the PPM workshop. These women have been chosen on the basis of their high performance in the training modules of BGLP and the quality of their project proposals submitted. It is hoped the study tour and PPM will further augment their knowledge on governance and leadership as well as increase their project management skills. More…

Media Coverage: City South News – Women aim to be leaders

The Foundation for Development Cooperation is proud to present the first issue of its occasional paper series: FDC Nai Sema – Mobile Financial Services: Extending the Reach of Financial Services Through Mobile Payment Systems. Nai Sema means “to connect” in the Fijian language. Through this occasional paper series, FDC aims to promote an exchange of ideas amongst those working in international development and cooperation and to generate discussion on the topics presented within. A copy of the FDC Nai Sema is available from: http://www.fdc.org.au/files/Resources/%20Nai-Sema/FDC-Nai-Sema-Occasional-Paper-Series-October-2009.pdf

This discussion paper, ‘Assessing the development impact of resource sector companies on their host countries,’ was prepared by The Foundation for Development Coordination in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers as a basis for discussion with the resource industry. It explores the development dividend produced by resource sector companies, reviews the guidelines and assessment tools that are used by the industry to evaluate the social, environmental, financial/economic and governance/political impacts, and aims to stimulate discussion in relation to the role, influence and impact of resource sector companies on the countries where they operate.

During September, FDC organised a three day Household Financial Management Train the Trainer workshop at the Porgera Mines Joint Venture in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The training materials used throughout the workshop were customised to the needs of the Porgera community and focused on financial literacy and business development concepts. Participants in attendance at the workshop included a range of young future community trainers. The workshop was a considerable success with participants eager to utilise the materials in the future to train households in Porgera communities.

Funding for a new and innovative project to design and implement renewable energy and microfinance systems in the Pacific has been awarded to The Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC). The Pacific Renewable Energy and Microfinance (PREM) Project will be carried out on the islands of Fiji, Vanuatu and Samoa over the next 15 months. The first phase has been completed and it is the baseline study on the state of renewable energy and energy efficiency products suitable for microfinance institution (MFI) clients, information on microfinance institutions (MFIs) amongst other basic information. The results of this study will also culminate into a set of training tools which will be created to assist MFIs to conduct a proper renewable and energy efficient needs analysis and identify sources of appropriate renewable energy technology. More…