Kevin Nyango
TechInPacific – The proposed Special Economic Zone will be set off in Papua New Guinea, precisely in Morobe Province, according to the Shane Ninai, one of Ledger Atlas’ Co-Founders. Ledger Atlas is a blockchain company based in the USA. The company has signed a MoU with PNG Government recently as a first to step to support the plan.
To success the plan, the company will also act as a participant in order to encourage other participants to provide services that are based on blockchain technology. Furthermore, the plan is expected to grow interested from other investors, both locally and globally.
Speaking of Papua New Guinea, with over 8 million people who live in the country, most of them are agrarians. They are a diverse society with having approximately 700 languages to be spoken. In term of economic sectors, the most significant revenue shares of the nation are from mining, natural gas extraction, and woods.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Treasure, Charles Abel, Papua New Guineans are not used to savings, they tend to “share everything” instead. The “savings” concept seems to be “Western” and not Papua New Guineans’, thus, they often find it difficult to practice it and to be successful to run a business.
Regardless of the fact, Abel finds the importance of savings and financial security to be implemented by Papua New Guineans, especially when retiring. However, there is a major obstacle to achieve the objective. According to Bank of Papua New Guinea’s website, there are around 85% who live in rural areas in Papua New Guinea and most of them have no access to formal financial services.
Realizing the obstacle, Ledger Atlas wants to address; moreover, see this as opportunities to offer a solution to the problem which is financial inclusion. Furthermore, Ledger Atlas will also attempt to engage with local community leaders and entrepreneurs to understand traditional forms of social, economic, and political activities in the area. Through the engagement, Ledger Atlas expects to find what to be done in order to implement blockchain technology in the area. The final aim of the plan is to develop PNG into a global blockchain hub.
