Innovation PNG 2026 Awards winners announced

It’s official: the Innovation PNG 2026 Awards have gone to a digital strata title platform, a poultry feed solution powered by fly larvae, and a system that helps school teachers focus on their students.

The awards were decided on by a judging panel chaired by the Chief Edge Officer at Deloitte’s Centre for the Edge in Australia, Peter Williams. This year marked the fourth time the Innovation PNG Awards have been run, with a record number of entries across the three categories.

Many entries focused on using PNG’s improved internet connectivity to launch their new ideas, including those making use of artificial intelligence.

“The range of innovations covered by the entries was nothing short of breathtaking, covering many different economic activities; from agribusiness, food production, education, recycling and energy, to telecommunications, logistics, manufacturing, information technology and more,” Williams said.

“The digital economy is an important opportunity for PNG’s future and many entries focused on using PNG’s improved internet connectivity to launch their new ideas, including those making use of artificial intelligence. We also noted this year an increase in the number of projects that had an environmental or sustainable element to them.”

The Innovation PNG Award for Corporate Innovation (sponsored by Vodafone PNG) was awarded to NiuPay Limited for its Digital Strata Title Platform, which was launched in March 2026 with the issuing of PNG’s first ever digital strata title.

The issuing of land titles by the Department of Lands has traditionally involved time-consuming, manual processes. The passing of the Strata Title Act and Strata Title (Management) Act of 2022 therefore represented an opportunity for someone to develop a digital solution – which NiuPay ultimately succeeded in doing.

One company received a Special Commendation from the judges: the Coffee Industry Corporation for its Green Gold Card (GGC) initiative, which aims to become a  “a national digital backbone” for farmer identification, traceability and market transparency across PNG’s coffee industry.

The Innovation PNG Award for Small Business (sponsored by Kina Bank) was awarded to Valana Poultry BSF Integrated Agro Farm, a small poultry farm in Central Province which has deployed a smarter, more affordable and sustainable way of producing poultry feed, using the proven powers of the Black Soldier Fly.

Prior to this project, poultry feed accounted for some 70 per cent of the farm’s costs.
In July 2025, Valana started feeding organic food waste to Black Soldier Fly larvae (maggots), which consumed the waste and were then used as a feed supplement. By using the fly larvae, the Valana farm has been able to cut its feed costs in half. As a bonus, the poultry grow faster, are healthier and – it is claimed – taste better too.

Two small businesses received a Special Commendation from the judges: Port Moresby’s Homes Purse Clean Energy for creating an alternative fuel sourced from local waste; and Jiwaka Province’s Gotronical Engineering for Kastom PNG, a website which helps preserve and promote PNG’s cultural heritage.

The Innovation PNG Award for Young Innovator (sponsored by Moni Plus) was awarded to Anthony Tutmulai of the National Capital District for devising a student management system that helps teachers spend less time on administration and more on teaching.

The judges gave a Special Commendation to Debbiealishia Kuamba of Goroka for her Areca Fluffy Pulp Project: using betel nut fibres to address a major challenge for PNG women – the production of affordable sanitary products.

Launched in 2019, the Innovation PNG Awards reward and encourage innovation – creative problem-solving using new ideas – across Papua New Guinea. Innovation PNG is co-hosted by the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Business Advantage International.