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New PNG, Fiji Tech Start-up Gains Ground in PNG

A PAPUA New Guinea company has Clockwise:
joined forces with a Fiji firm for devel- CloudApp Labs
opment of its next generation banking (PNG) Strategic
Planning workshop
software. participants Isoa
CloudApp Laboratories (PNG) Limited Kaloumaira, Speaker
– a new tech start-up – has joined Fiji’s USP Professor Jito
Vanualailai, director
Software Factory to make a push into HulalaTokome,
the Papua New Guinea market. faciltator Sitiveni
CloudApp is owned 51 per cent by Weleilakeba, Photos: Supplied
PNG’s NASFUND Contributors Savings Chairman Ian
Tarutia, CEO Semi
and Loan Society. The remaining 49 Tukana; Participants
per cent owned by Software Factory at the workshop;
Limited of Fiji. Chairman Tarutia
makes his address.
A two-day conference at the Grand Pa- Families and friends
cific Hotel in Suva from October 12-13, join the team. Left:
charted a way forward for the joint ven- Parmesh Dayal, Mr
and Mrs Penioni
ture’s presence and expansion in PNG. Narube, Lupe
The workshop will help the new Tech Tabaleka, Caroline
Start-up come up with a new Strategic Mayu.
Plan and also a list of new innovative
features to be incorporated into its Next
Generation Banking System. leadership positions.” we are seriously exploring establishing a
“The innovation we bring to our target The new system aims to cater for the new company in Sydney called Creative
PNG market is a new banking system new generation of the bankable popula- Engines Pty Limited to bring this new
that is functional, robust, affordable and tion. “The new next generation banking system to life. Australia has stronger
supported on shore with the presence of system will benefit clients of small to Intellectual Property (IP) protection laws.
a strong local service team,” CloudApp medium sized banks, credit unions, and We will also be nearer to advanced tech-
Labs PNG’s chairman Ian Tarutia said. savings & loan societies in PNG, Fiji and nology partners.”
Tarutia is also the CEO for PNG’s NAS- beyond,” Tarutia said. The new company hopes to outsource
FUND and Chairman for the NASFUND The founder of CloudApp Labs (PNG) the development and specialist works to
Contributors Savings & Loan Society and Software Factory (FIJI), Semi Tu- contractors in Australia, Fiji, Israel and
Limited. kana, was very excited with the prospect Asia (India/Vietnam/Philipines).
“PNG has always been heavily de- of designing the new next generation “However, Fiji’s corporate tax and tax-
pendent on foreign-made systems with banking system. free status for the Knowledge Economy
little or no local service provider,” Tarutia “We live in exciting times, and the new companies is still the best,” Tukana said.
said. system will be smart, secure, fast, and A young team of developers from PNG
“This approach has proven time and easy to use by banking customers and will understudy the development works
time again to be expensive in the long- it allows them to transact with anyone so that they can provide some level of
run and difficult to maintain as the sup- or any entity anywhere in the world,” on-going support locally in PNG.
port team always resides abroad.” Tukana said. “These will be made pos- It will take about 18 months to de-
Tarutia said: “Different time zones is sible by utilising available smart tech- velop the new system. The system will
a problem. When we are about to leave nologies like decision engines coupled be hosted using a hybrid cloud and on
our office, our support service providers with artificial intelligence, performance premise configuration.
are just walking into theirs.” loading scalability, solid cyber security “I find it difficult to sleep with all the
“Their invoices are usually denomi- algorithms and APIs.” excitement, thinking of all the prospec-
nated on very strong currencies like the Tukana said the PNG market was very tive features that we hope to include in
Euro, Australian or US dollars. These big and the new next generation banking the new system and how the different
factors make foreign system support system would also be aimed at small to decision engines are going to work
very expensive, impractical and is a huge medium financial institutions in Austra- together to guide all the automated pro-
strain and continual drain on our small lia, New Zealand and beyond. cesses within the system,” Tukana said.
societies as users of foreign exchange.” “I believe that it is important that we “At the end of the day, when our
The new Next Generation Banking look beyond our current Pacific market,” younger bankers use the system I would
software will use new technology, plat- Tukana said. like to hear them say ‘Wow! This is so
forms and services to take the full bank- “It is time to move upwards. cool’. When that happens then I know my
ing services to the customer by placing it “We are currently still looking for the job is done, at least for now.”
in the palm of the clients’ hands. best vehicle and business model to drive n Source -Cloud App Laboratories (PNG)
“Current global trends show that the this new development project. At present LImited
Millennials are now in management and

Islands Business, November 2017 35