While the COVID-19 crisis has been tough for many Papua New Guinea businesses, Niugini Geeks’ order book is full for the next six months. Business Advantage PNG talks to General Manager Claire Lee to discover why.

Lack of flexibility, international calls and meetings at odd hours are just a few of the grievances that companies in Papua New Guinea face when they have to work with an ICT company based overseas.

Property development and construction company, the Glory Group of Companies, was aware of these issues and in 2016 tasked Claire Lee, who was in charge of ICT at the group, to conduct a feasibility study and explore options to develop IT solutions ‘from PNG and for PNG’.

After 18 months of extensive research and interviews with IT professionals, ‘we were convinced that PNG-made creative and innovative software as system solutions were viable,’ Lee tells Business Advantage PNG. In 2017, Niugini Geeks, a business owned by GIT Limited (a subsidiary of Glory Holdings) was established.

‘With high-speed internet connection people are more willing to pay for internet-based solutions like web apps, mobile apps and cloud-based solutions.’

Niugini Geeks then approached Telikom ISP Wholesale and in 2018 became an ISP business.

‘Since then, we have been providing innovative solutions – security systems, biometric access control and time attendance – to business from various sectors to fit our customers’ budgets,’ Lee says.

Growing PNG’s ecommerce sector

Niugini Geek’s Claire Lee. Credit: Niugini Geeks

Last month, Niugini Geeks launched an Internet Payment Gateway (IPG) becoming the first ICT company to join BSP’s ecommerce family.

‘We had been searching for a payment gateway integration for a long time,’ says Lee. ‘Most of the payment gateways adopted by multinational corporations in PNG are popular international payment gateways that collect payment in currencies other than kina. So when we first learned about the BSP Payment Gateway in 2017, we jumped at the chance.’

The onboarding process and establishment of the merchant account took over 12 months, recalls Lee. Niugini Geeks underwent strict verification and integration processes to guarantee the best (and most secure) experience for customers.

The ICT company, which also offers web design and workshops, is redesigning its ecommerce store to take advantage of the online payment system, says Lee, and hopes to help SMEs develop their websites to sell online.

2020’s challenges

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Niugini Geeks saw a spike in demand for its services.

‘We have seen an increase in demands to automate business processes with software applications, and then make them portable and accessible over the internet,’ says Lee. ‘Our pipeline is full for the next six months and we are trying to increase our capacity.’

‘We have a big dream. We hope to create a PNG version of Silicon Valley in POM.’

The increased connectivity and lower internet cost that the new submarine cables are bringing to PNG are also helping Niugini Geeks expand its services and ‘pass the savings to our customers,’ says Lee.

‘With high-speed internet connection people are more willing to pay for internet-based solutions like web apps, mobile apps and cloud-based solutions. We have seen an increase in business interest in these areas, which is an advantage for us.’

And what lies ahead for Niugini Geeks looks even more promising.

‘Our short-term plan is to become the breeding ground for tech talents who will create innovative technology solutions for our clients and our long-term goal is to become a technology incubator to help tech start-up businesses to succeed with our network, resources and experiences,’ says Lee. ‘We have a big dream. We hope to create a PNG version of Silicon Valley in POM.’