Young Papua New Guinea digital entrepreneurs are developing followings in film and podcasts. They are bringing something relatively new to the country.
Unitech
A new development on the Papua New Guinea University of Technology’s campus in Lae will give PNG’s second city its first shopping mall. Vice-Chancellor Dr Albert Schram tells Business Advantage PNG the plan includes housing, shops, banks and business offices.
Albert Schram, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Technology (Unitech) in Lae, tells Business Advantage PNG that the institution is undergoing a broad ‘cultural change’. The aim is to create closer ties with business in order to produce better qualified graduates.
Satellite-enabled phone and data services have often been considered a technology of last resort, due to relatively high costs and quality constraints. However, Dutch company O3b is pioneering the next generation of cheaper, more reliable satellite communications in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific—good news for a region where getting connected can be a major challenge.
An analysis of foreign workers coming to Papua New Guinea since 2000 indicates a chronic lack of skilled tradespeople, according to Lae-based business leaders. While skills training initiatives are under way, an expected surge in mining projects over the next few years highlights the urgency for more skilled workers.
PNG’s second-largest city is the focal point for the nation’s downstream processing industries.