Grade 1 School Leaver becomes Businessman, Employs African Expatriate and Four University Graduates7/29/2021 By Albertis Photography Grade One Leaver Employs African Expatriate & Four University Graduates Paguri Apartment at Gerehu (Rainbow) in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea was officially opened on Sunday (25th July) by the Chairman of National Development Bank Michael Yake Mell and the Governor for Sandaun Province Tony Wouwou. The building is owned by a local businessman (Joseph Wandi) from Imbonggu District in Southern Highlands Province. Wandi said, “It took two years to complete the building and the exact amount of money consumed by the building was K3.5 million. “I don’t have any education background, I left school in Grade one because I was a parentless kid. My mom and dad passeded away when I was very young. There was no support for me so in order to avoid challenges, I left school.
“I have started my life with K150, I used that money to buy baskets in the villages and I started selling them at Mendi town and at the streets of Mt Hagen in 2000. “No matter how hard I tried to improve my life, there were so many challenges confronted me every single day. One day, I was planning to go to Port Moresby so I bought some baskets and in 2002, one of my brother helped me with a ticket so I left home and came to Moresby,” Wandi added. Wandi further alluded that after few years of street sales on the streets of Port Moresby, I had registered a finance company and later I registered a SME . At first I didn’t know how to sign the documents because I am just a grade one drop out. “But I stayed focus and I started to employ people. They have assisted me in every areas of my business and step by step I have learned the knowledge and skills required in business,” He added. “Currently I have 15 employees; four are University graduates and one expatriate from Africa who is a Architecture who constructed the building and rest of the employees are diploma holders. “From my experience I can say that education is not the only way to success, success can be achieved without education. Man must have a right mindset to manage and achieve a desired result. “My life has changed because of SME and from my experience I believe SME is one vital way of improving the living standards of every Papua New Guineans. “My appeal to the government is to invest more into SME so that some of the poor and struggling Papua New Guineans out there can improve their living standards,” Wandi added. The National Development Bank Chairman, Michael Yake Mell said that most of the lands in all the urban centres of PNG have been sold out to the foreigners. “ We think that they have the money and knowledge to develop our land,” he added. Yake Mell addressed Joseph Wandi as an intelligent Papua New Guinean who can transform Papua New Guinea. “You are the first Papua New Guinean who is an Urban Development Lease developer and I shall ask the government to give you are reward,” Yake Mell added. “Land in all the main urban centres of PNG have been sold to the foreigners. But it is just that we must have the right policies to compete with the foreigners. “This building is a big thing that will transform PNG tomorrow. I came here as a National Development Bank (NDB) chairman and I am a shamed because NDB didn’t fund any money for this building. “I have been a chairman for SME cooperation for the last 15 years and to come here and open the building, I was in doubt. Because I am the Highlands man and if I want to talk, I must have something on my hands, ”Mell said. “In the last three years, I used to open a lot of buildings throughout PNG. The National Development Bank used to fund various SMEs throughout PNG so I go and opened those buildings. But this is a new experience because NDB didn’t fund this building. “The government has allocated one billion kina for the SME schemes. In which K500 million was diverted to NDB and another K5 million to BSP. “For NDB, we didn’t roll out the program as yet, once the agreement is signed, we will roll out the program this yea. “Some of the poor citizens of PNG didn’t come to NDB and enquire to borrow the money. Later I realize that the agreement signed by NDB with the department of commerce, made the poor people feel very difficult to borrow the money. “I have identified that issue and we are now working on simplifying the process but if people don’t come and borrow the money, NDB will keep the money make things much easier for people to borrow,” Mell stated. Mell further alluded that the Bank of South Pacific (BSP) only lends money to business houses but the poor citizens of PNG are unable to borrow the money. But with NDB, we are changing these laws, I saw that the minority and poor people of PNG don’t have the security and equity. “The first funding that is available with NDB is K180 million, 60 percent of that fund would be used to roll out the program and 40 percent will be the security for the Papua New Guineans. “We will never ask you a lot for security and equity. If your proposal is right, we will give it to you. Once the program is rolled out, we will never ask so much about the security or how much money you have, as long as your proposal is right, NDB will issue the money and another 40 percent, we will guarantee you,” Mell added. Next : Grade 12 Drop Out To University : Story Of Javin Share your Inspirational Stories, Education Issues, Education Talk. Let your voice be heard: Send us your stories to us: email : pngedunews@gmail.com Share this
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