January 2010, The Foundation for Development Cooperation
As part of its work to increase financial inclusion in developing countries, FDC recently assessed various business models for the provision of financial services in Papua New Guinea (PNG). FDC assessed the following models: traditional branch model, electronic banking services, mobile phone banking, rural banking through mobile branch and community trust funds. This work resulted in a list of considerations that we believe are crucial in identifying and implementing the right business model(s) to meet the needs for financial services in rural PNG. We found that the suitability of financial services for a culturally and economically diverse country such as PNG must be determined based on a number of criteria such as social inclusiveness, accessibility, affordability and security for the user and provider, and community needs. Also, it was found that a combination of different business models may generate more positive outcomes than relying on a single approach.
