In late June, two senior staff members from the Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) completed the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) globally recognised Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) Training of Trainers (ToT) program. Held under the auspices of the Small and Medium Enterprises Corporation (SMEC), the training reflects a growing trend among public institutions in Papua New Guinea to embed international best practices within local economic development initiatives.
The certified staff members—Douglas Keari, Executive Manager for Research & Business Development, and Jessie Pundu, Culture Officer—join a network of local trainers expected to support the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the tourism sector. Their achievement adds to a small but growing cadre within the TPA already trained under the ILO framework, including officers Clare Atava Kolma and Dunstan Uluchoe, both certified in 2023.
The SIYB program, one of ILO’s most widely implemented entrepreneurial training platforms, is designed to equip trainers with practical tools to assist small business operators, especially those facing structural and geographic barriers to market access. Its deployment in PNG comes at a time when the government is actively promoting MSME development as a central pillar of economic diversification, particularly in non-extractive sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and cultural industries.
The timing of this capacity-building effort is significant. As Papua New Guinea seeks to revitalise its domestic tourism industry in the post-COVID context, equipping public servants with practical tools for enterprise development speaks to a deeper institutional recognition: the long-term success of tourism lies not in promotional campaigns alone, but in the sustained empowerment of those delivering the experience on the ground—namely, the informal and semi-formal operators in rural and remote communities.
Keari, reflecting on the training, noted its relevance to the PNG context. “This certification is a personal milestone and an opportunity to directly contribute to the growth of our tourism MSMEs,” he said. “The training has equipped us with tools that are practical and rooted in the realities of what our small business operators face.” Pundu echoed this sentiment, particularly in relation to community-based and cultural tourism: “I’m eager to put these skills into action where it matters—supporting grassroots tourism operators.”
The practical implication of this certification is that TPA is now better positioned to offer not just promotional support, but technical and developmental assistance to MSMEs in the sector. This includes areas such as financial literacy, business planning, marketing, and operational resilience—skills that are often lacking among rural tourism operators, but essential for long-term sustainability.
From a policy standpoint, the TPA’s engagement with the ILO’s SIYB model represents a noteworthy alignment between international development frameworks and local institution-building. While donor agencies and multilateral organisations have long advocated for MSME support in the Pacific, few initiatives have translated into the kind of embedded expertise that this program fosters. The fact that a statutory authority such as TPA is investing in its internal human resources—rather than relying solely on external consultants—marks a strategic shift in institutional capacity development.
TPA CEO Eric Mossman Uvovo commended the graduates, stating, “This achievement reflects TPA’s commitment to investing in our people to better serve the tourism sector. Their certification enhances not only our internal capability but also our outreach to the communities and MSMEs that form the backbone of our tourism industry.”
Yet the broader challenge remains: translating individual certifications into institutionalised support systems that are consistently delivered across the country’s highly decentralised and often inaccessible geography. For the SIYB model to have real impact, certified trainers will need to be integrated into a larger policy framework that ensures ongoing mentorship, resource allocation, and cross-agency collaboration—particularly with the SME Corporation, Department of Commerce and Industry, and provincial governments.
Still, as a step in the right direction, the certification of Keari and Pundu underscores a small but meaningful shift in how public agencies can build endogenous capacity for economic development. It also hints at a longer-term vision where Papua New Guinea’s tourism growth is not merely marketed but managed—grounded in knowledge, driven by evidence, and supported by locally trained professionals.