Hosted by the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Business Advantage International, Innovation PNG 2023 took place on 10 November 2023.

On this page, you will find videos, slides and other materials from the event.

What happened?

A Plenary Conference featured international keynote speakers and multiple streams in the afternoon.

A Gala Awards Dinner the night before acknowledged and rewarded PNG’s leading innovators.

An Expo Plus featured company booths and technology-related services/attractions.

Workshops provided hands-on training and inspiration

Program/downloads

The conference is over but the conversation continues. Please find below slides, videos and other materials from the program.

Session 1 (plenary)

8.30am	WELCOME
8.40am	Official Government Partner Address The Hon. Timothy Masiu MP, Minister for Information and Communications Technology Download the Minister’s speech
8.50am	OPENING KEYNOTE: The digital economy as a driver of growth and prosperity What is the digital economy and how can PNG participate in it? Futurist Dr Jane Thomason will look at some of the transformational technologies coming our way and suggest practical ways PNG can use them to create our own digital economy. Jane is the interim chair of the World Metaverse Council and a thought leader in the rapidly developing field of Metaverse, which is projected by Citi to be a $13 trillion industry by 2030. A well-known author, she has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and multiple books. She is frequently invited by industry to deconstruct the Metaverse and explain how this growing industry will impact on their work. Jane has a forty-year connection with PNG, which dates back to her time working for the National Research Institute, Department of Health and the Asian Development Bank in the 1980s and continues today through her role as a non-executive director of Kina Bank. View Dr Jane Thomason’s Keynote slides
9.30am	INNOVATION CASE STUDY: 2023 Innovation PNG Award winner (Small business) View Go Food PNG’s slides	GoFood PNG
9.40am	INNOVATION CASE STUDY: 2023 Innovation PNG Award winner (Large business) View MiBank’s slides	MiBank
9.50am	PRESENTATION: PNG’s Digital government strategy Steven Matainaho, Secretary, Department of Information and Communications Technology Steven Matainaho is the man charged with implementing PNG’s Digital Government Plan, 2023–2027. He will update the conference on the journey so far, and focus particularly on plans to bring government services and functions into the Cloud, and introduce digital identification to PNG. View Steven Matainaho’s slides
10.05am	INNOVATION CASE STUDY: 2023 Innovation PNG Award winner (Government) Dominic Sikakau, Managing Director, Credit Guarantee Corporation View Dominic Sikakau’s slides	Credit Guarantee Corporation

Session 2 (plenary)

10.45am	VIRTUAL KEYNOTE: Innovation the key to unlocking growth and achieving scale John Ball, Managing Director, Google Customer Solutions Australia & New Zealand Every major new technological breakthrough drives a wave of innovation that allows more people to access global markets. This exclusive video presentation outlines how Google is currently enabling innovation in PNG (e.g., Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail) and looks ahead to the next wave of products, such as Google AI and driverless cars. It was followed by a live Q&A.
11.10am	PRESENTATION: Update on PNG’s communications infrastructure Paul Komboi, Chief Executive Officer, PNG Dataco View Paul Komboi’s slides
11.25am	INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Satellite on the move Robbie Huxley, Managing Director, TE (PNG) View Robbie Huxley’s slides
11.35am	KEYNOTE: Cybersecurity Matt Dri, Partner, Cyber Response & Forensic Technology, KPMG Australia Cybercrime is a never-ending challenge for both business and government in their attempts to take advantage of the scale and flexibility offered by the internet. This presentation discuss the common threats and how they can be addressed in a PNG context. View Matt Dri’s slides
12.05pm	INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Education in the Cloud Samson Korawali, Chief Executive Officer, SNS Tech View Samson Korawali’s slides
12.15pm	INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Agriculture Aina Davis, Rice Development Manager, Trukai Maryanne Tom, Marketing Manager, Trukai Rice is a crop with huge potential in PNG. Trukai’s Smart Farmer program is an attempt to develop and encourage local expertise in rice-growing.
12.25pm	VIRTUAL FIRESIDE CHAT: Social networks and the Pacific Nick McDonnell, Head of Public Policy, New Zealand & Pacific Islands, Meta Meta is the owner of the social network, Facebook. Its senior Pacific executive will discuss initiatives Meta is taking to develop digital literacy, online safety, and e-commerce in the region.

Lunchtime workshop

12.50pm-1.35pm

WORKSHOP: Cybersecurity

This workshop took a closer look at some of the latest cybersecurity trends, tools, and approaches.

Facilitator: Matt Dri, Partner, Cyber Response & Forensic Technology, KPMG Australia

View Matt Dri’s slides

Session 3 (split rooms)

	ROOM 1	ROOM 2
1.40pm – 2.40pm	WORKSHOP: Planning for a digital future – an innovation framework for PNG This workshop was designed to give you understanding of what it takes to innovate and how to create an eco-system that supports innovation in PNG. Facilitator: Dr Jane Thomason View Dr Jane Thomason’s slides	INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Environment (10 mins) Tim Solly, Commercial Director, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) This year, CCEP has introduced PNG’s first-ever recycling scheme for PET bottles. Tim Solly talked about the scheme’s implementation and what the plans are for its future. View Tim Solly’s slides
		FIRESIDE CHAT: Innovation and change management at Kina Bank (15 mins) Martha Nion-Tefuarani, Senior Manager – Strategic Innovation, Kina Bank in conversation with Business Advantage International’s Andrew Wilkins.
		INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Transport (10 mins) Isaac Jipsy, Chief Executive Officer, ODESH on Port Moresby’s Uber-style taxi service View Isaac Jipsy’s slides
		VIRTUAL FIRESIDE CHAT: Why your brand matters and how to build a strong one. (10 mins) Q&A Sergio Brodsky, Executive Director, Strategy, Landor & Fitch Whatever the size of your organization, your brand matters more than you think. In this session, international brand, media, and innovation strategist Sergio Brodsky, explains what makes a strong brand, what practical measures you can take to strengthen it, and how strong brands ultimately drive innovation.
		INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Energy (10 mins) Israel Jali Kilawe & Jonathan Teloma Lanto, Engineers, ExxonMobil PNG Operated by ExxonMobil, the PNG LNG Project has propelled an LNG industry that didn’t exist a decade ago into the spotlight through its world-class performance and almost 90 percent Papua New Guinean workforce. Its success has been driven by ExxonMobil and its focus on applying next-generation technologies to help safely and reliably meet the world’s growing energy needs. Through data, visualization, and analytics, ExxonMobil is optimising the PNG LNG Project’s operations to routinely produce well above its nameplate capacity. View Israel Jali Kilawe & Jonathan Teloma Lanto’s slides
2.40pm – 3.30pm	PANEL DISCUSSION: Software development in PNG Some of PNG’s leading ICT experts software engineers discuss how they are developing PNG tech solutions for PNG problems. Panelists: Christopher Vagalia, CEO, Agri-Tech Organics Bosa Togs, Director, Saribu Consulting Services This discussion held in association with the PNG ICT Cluster. View Christopher Vagalia’s slides	VIRTUAL MASTERCLASS: Innovation culture Eckhardt Boehme, Founder & Managing Director, Unipro Solutions The co-developer of the Wheel of Progress, a German tool to drive innovation in customer service, provides a short overview of its principles and how to use it in both business and government organisations.
		INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Enabling microbanking in PNG (10 mins) Max Relph, Sales Manager Banking – Australia, NZ & Pacific Islands, Temenos Australia View Max Relph’s slides
		INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Building green Markus Scheuermaier, Resident Representative PNG, International Finance Corporation (IFC) The head of the IFC’s PNG office spoke about its support for more environmentally efficient buildings through its EDGE certification program, now in PNG. View Markus Scheuermaier’s slides

Session 4 (plenary)

4.00pm

KEYNOTE: The next wave of innovation in payments

Craig Kirkland, Director, Mastercard Pacific

The Pacific Islands Director of global payments giant Mastercard de-mystified the current situation with online payments in the Pacific, and highlighted how innovations will allow us all to pay for things (and also get paid ourselves) more efficiently in the future.

View Part 1 of Craig Kirkland’s slides

View Part 2 of Craig Kirkland’s slides

4.20pm

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Digital ID

Kimmo Koivisto, CEO, Digizen ID

Naime Kilamanu, Chief Information Officer, Bank of Papua New Guinea

View Kimmo Koivisto’s slides

4.30pm

CLOSING KEYNOTE: Creating an innovation culture

Ted Garner, Chief Strategy Officer, Konica Minolta Australia

From digitisation to 3D printing and high-tech imaging, global tech company Konica Minolta has been at the forefront of technological innovation. Ted Garner is responsible for formulating, facilitating, and communicating Konica Minolta’s strategic initiatives in Australia. He talked about his High Tech Start-up origin in Canada, being acquired by Konica Minolta, through business transformation projects in North America, Europe, and now Australia. Ted also shared the strategy and culture architecture lessons he learned along his exciting journey.

View Ted Garner’s slides

Photos

You are welcome to download the photos for your personal use (eg LinkedIn).

We ask that you use the following credit when posting: “Photo credit: Godfreeman Kaptigau/BAI”. (A reminder to use the hashtag #pngconference when posting).