Nasfund, MiBank and New Britain Palm Oil Ltd. have begun rolling out a joint initiative to expand superannuation coverage and promote long-term savings among oil palm growers and smallholder farmers in Papua New Guinea.
The initiative follows a July memorandum of understanding between Nasfund and NBPOL to onboard existing oil palm growers and new smallholders into Nasfund’s Eda Supa voluntary superannuation product.
MiBank will support the program through the Nasfund-MiBank digital banking and onboarding platform, making registration, contributions and payment of Nasfund benefits more accessible to members in the informal sector.
Nasfund currently has about 1,100 oil palm smallholders contributing through NBPOL under Eda Supa. The partners are targeting the onboarding of these existing NBPOL smallholders and growers, followed by a further 1,000 new smallholders.
Nasfund chief executive Rajeev Sharma said the initiative supports the fund’s strategy of extending superannuation coverage to the informal sector.
He said Nasfund plans to roll out similar initiatives in other parts of the country.
The rollout began Aug. 4 at NBPOL’s Salelubu Division and is expected to continue for six weeks, covering the Buvusi, Kavui, Nahavio, Siki and Talasea NBPOL sites in West New Britain province.
The mobile branch service is supported by Starlink internet connectivity, enabling Nasfund to extend services to rural and remote communities where conventional branch infrastructure may be limited.
The partnership between Nasfund, MiBank and NBPOL is aimed at improving financial inclusion, encouraging voluntary retirement savings and strengthening the long-term financial security of Papua New Guinea’s agricultural communities.
