• SME Risk Share Facility - Access To Finance For SME

CSU1

RSF provides risk coverage for a portfolio of newly-originated loans to existing and start-up SMEs. RSF is obliged to provide technical assistance to the Department of Commerce & Industry to upgrade its SME strategy and policy-making capacity.

Function

i. Accelerate commercial banks’ lending to SMEs;

ii. Conduct Performance-based technical assistance to financial institutions participating in SME lending;

iii. Provide training and capacity building for SMEs to secure loans from commercial banks;

iv. Undertake monitoring activities, collecting data, reports and review underwriting standards and processes involved in SME financing.

Objective

To facilitate access to sustainable credit for micro small and medium enterprises and contribute to incremental growth of SME employment and income generation.

Connect, fund and Grow SMEs through engaging with banks and financial institutions (FIs) to drive Credit Enhancement Programs,
SME Diagnostic, Mapping and Development of SME database management system for policy development,
Capacity Building for Provincial Commerce and BDOs
Smart hubs for youths in SMEs and
Establishment of Smart Innovative Research Fund for SMEs.

RSF is a credit enhancement facility for MSMEs, RSF accelerates commercial banking lending to SMEs and provides credit protection needed by financial institutions to mitigate the perceived high risk of MSME loans. Since PNG is a liquid commercial banking sector, financial institutions hesitate to reduce these reserves due to highly perceived market risks and therefore do not sufficiently support MSME loans. As a result, MSMEs in PNG are stagnant and struggle to grow.

Department of Commerce and Industry using RSF as a model and a development tool, to facilitate access to finance for MSMEs, the higher-level objective is to foster MSME growth and employment creation in PNG. This is the key to achieving our government's overall development objectives of spurring economic growth and reducing poverty.

RSF is fully aligned with Medium Term Development Plan 2023-2028, and Vision 2050 on wealth creation, poverty reduction, and a healthy wealthy society by 2030.