Stories about Innovation PNG conference speakers and topics
Kina Bank has been leading the way in bringing digital banking products to Papua New Guineans, most recently with the launch of the Pei Beta digital wallet earlier this year. Its CEO Ivan Vidovich shared his bank’s vision on digital payments and innovation in an on-stage interview at the Innovation PNG 2026 Awards in Port Moresby.
The winners of Papua New Guinea’s major awards for innovation were announced at a special breakfast on 3 June at the Hilton Hotel in Port Moresby. While two of the awards were built on PNG’s growing digital backbone, the third award involved a decidedly offline solution.
A record number of corporations entered the 2026 Innovation PNG Awards this year, with the shortlists announced earlier this month in Port Moresby. From a digital platform for strata titles to a system to streamline coffee exports, we consider the five projects shortlisted for this year’s corporate category.
A record number of small businesses entered the 2026 Innovation PNG Awards this year, with the shortlists announced last week in Port Moresby. From the use of artificial intelligence to monitor media reporting to using fly larvae to create poultry feed, we consider the six ingenious projects shortlisted in this year’s small business category.
Papua New Guinea has seen rapid technological change in a short time, with some communities going from no contact with the outside world to having access to digital tools in the space of a generation. Nadav Shemer Shlezinger speaks with tech sector leaders about the progress being made, and what’s next for PNG to fulfill its innovation potential.
As more institutions are considering ways to connect to the unbanked population of Papua New Guinea, mobile wallets are emerging as a potential game changer for the sector. Charlotte Armstrong examines the key players in PNG’s mobile money market.
This year’s Innovation PNG Awards featured a new category: for female innovators. The award was shared by two women, who speak to Business Advantage PNG about their groundbreaking projects and the promising future for female innovators in Papua New Guinea.
Major Papua New Guinea superannuation fund Nasfund is pioneering the use of artificial intelligence (AI) with award-winning results. CEO Rajeev Sharma talks about the early wins from using the technology and why this is just the beginning for AI – for the fund and PNG businesses more generally.
Ivan Vidovich, recently-appointed CEO of Kina Bank, speaks about the financial institution’s digital innovation strategy at the recent Innovation PNG 2025 conference in Port Moresby.
The winner of this year’s Innovation PNG Award for Small Business is an ingenious all-in-one water, sanitation and washing station designed for use by Papua New Guinea’s village communities. We take a closer look at Environmental Health Development Agency’s Water SHE Technology.