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.

Penelope Aisi (centre) and the team behind the Wantok Wallet at BSP. Credit: Penelope Aisi

Program Manager Penelope Aisi and her team at BSP Financial Group were recognised for the launch of BSP’s “Wantok Wallet” in the 2025 Innovation PNG Awards.

Aimed at the unbanked, the USSD-based wallet allows users to perform various transactions – checking their account balance, transferring funds or paying bills – using just the keypad on their cellphone.

“We had to design within tight constraints while ensuring the user experience was simple, intuitive, and culturally relevant,” Aisi tells Business Advantage PNG.

“We can’t create something new if we don’t learn from what has gone ahead of us.”

End users were front-and-centre throughout the process, with Aisi and her team having to factor in how to introduce a digital banking product in a society where cash is king and many people don’t have a bank account.

“When a customer said, ‘Mi no save long dispela samting’ (“I don’t know how this works”), we walked with them, built understanding, and earned trust – because innovation without inclusion isn’t real progress,” Aisi recalls.

Aisi says the development process challenged her as a leader, requiring her to manage cross-functional teams, communicate a clear and consistent vision, and foster a culture of ownership and trust.

“Watching individuals step up, solve problems together, and rally around a shared purpose was inspiring,” she says.

“It reminded me that innovation isn’t just about launching something new – it’s about the transformation that happens in people along the way.”

Green buildings

Meanwhile, Alumita Chan of Steamships Limited’s Graduate Development Management program was also recognised for leading Steamships’ subsidiary Pacific Palms Property in achieving the first-ever EDGE Green Building Certification for a building in the South Pacific.

Alumita Chan with her 2025 Female Innovator of the Year Award. Credit: Alumita Chan

The certification, set up by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), encourages resource efficiency in building projects.

Pursuing the certification for Steamships’ corporate headquarters, the @345 Building in downtown Port Moresby, “represents a commitment to attaining net zero carbon emissions in line with Steamship’s sustainability targets,” Chan tells Business Advantage PNG.

Chan’s role required her to ensure the construction and fit-out of @345 met the IFC’s specifications and auditing requirements. She had to collaborate with the building’s contractors to achieve a “a win-win for both sides.”

In Chan’s opinion, the certification represents not just an achievement for herself and Pacific Palms, but one for PNG itself.

“As a developing nation, not much focus is given to sustainable construction practices,” she says, adding that it demonstrates that “PNG can create sustainable, liveable cities.”

Driving female innovation

Reflecting on their awards, both Aisi and Chan see potential for women to be more involved in innovating in PNG businesses. But they need encouragement.

“What’s often missing is access: access to resources, mentorship, and pathways to scale,” says Aisi.

The importance of visible female role models is also critical, according to Chan.

“We can’t create something new if we don’t learn from what has gone ahead of us,” she says.

Asked to provide advice to future female innovators, Aisi says to “start where you are, stay rooted in your community, be clear about your values and let them guide your journey.”

An innovative project “doesn’t have to be something grand”, notes Chan. “It may be only something in the workplace that you do daily that can be improved to trigger change.”

Both award-winners believe that the best innovations come from team efforts.

“Progress happens when we work together with mutual respect, honest feedback and a shared commitment to creating safe, inclusive spaces where everyone can contribute and thrive,” says Aisi.