Papua New Guinea (PNG) faces significant hurdles in advancing technology and digitization. These barriers exacerbate the digital divide, limiting economic growth, service delivery, and access to global opportunities.
Based on recent analyses as of 2025, the key challenges include infrastructure deficits, economic constraints, and human capacity gaps. Below is a summary of the primary barriers, drawing from expert reports and studies.
| Barrier Category | Description | Examples/Impacts |
| Infrastructure Limitations | Poor connectivity and unreliable power supply hinder widespread adoption. Most communities lack broadband internet, with remote areas particularly isolated. | Rural electrification is inconsistent, leading to frequent device charging issues; only about 15-20% of PNG's population has reliable internet access as of 2024. |
| Economic and Affordability Constraints | Low purchasing power and high costs of devices, data, and services make technology inaccessible for many. | Internet access fees are among the world's highest, pricing out low-income households; this is compounded by limited investment in tech sectors. |
| Digital Literacy and Skills Gaps | Widespread lack of training in using digital tools, including emerging technologies like AI. | Low literacy rates impede effective use of mobile health apps or online services; slowness to adopt AI stems from insufficient local expertise. |
| Regulatory and Legal Hurdles | Outdated governance frameworks slow down ICT project approvals and investments. | Fragmented regulations create uncertainty for infrastructure rollout, including past gaps in cloud service availability. |
| Linguistic and Cultural Barriers | Shortage of localized tech solutions, such as large language models (LLMs) supporting PNG's indigenous languages. | AI tools are predominantly English-based, alienating non-English speakers and cultural contexts; this fosters exclusion in digital services. |
| Geographic and Social Challenges | PNG's archipelagic geography amplifies isolation, especially for displaced or marginalized communities. | Infrastructure projects struggle in highlands and islands, widening urban-rural disparities. |
These barriers are interconnected—e.g., poor infrastructure fuels high costs, which in turn limits literacy-building efforts—and have persisted despite some progress, such as the rollout of mobile networks in urban areas.
Overcoming These Barriers: Strategies and Proposed Changes
Addressing PNG's digital challenges requires a multi-stakeholder approach, emphasizing policy reform, investment, and community empowerment. The PNG Digital Government Plan 2023-2027 outlines strategies to tackle market barriers, including subsidies for connectivity and public-private partnerships. A critical yet often overlooked aspect is the urgent need for businesses—both small enterprises and large corporations—to digitize their operations. In a resource-constrained economy like PNG's, manual processes lead to inefficiencies, lost revenue, and missed opportunities in global supply chains.
Digitization enables streamlined workflows, real-time data insights, and scalability, potentially boosting productivity by 20-30% according to regional benchmarks. Platforms like 1-Tok's Odoo ERP, a PNG-tailored, open-source solution, exemplify this need: it integrates CRM, inventory, accounting, and eCommerce into a single, customizable platform with no licensing fees, making it ideal for local businesses facing high costs and skills shortages. By adopting such tools, PNG businesses can overcome linguistic barriers through localized interfaces (e.g., supporting Tok Pisin) and integrate with cloud services for remote access, directly addressing infrastructure gaps. Building on this, here are targeted recommendations to overcome the barriers:
- Enhance Infrastructure Through Government-Led Investments: Prioritize public funding for broadband expansion and renewable energy solutions in rural areas. Adopt cloud technologies at the government level to reduce dependency on local hardware and enable scalable services. This could include incentives for providers like Telikom PNG to partner with international firms for nationwide 5G rollout.
- Boost Affordability and Economic Access: Implement subsidies for devices and data bundles targeted at low-income groups, alongside microfinance programs for tech purchases. International aid from bodies like the World Bank could fund these, drawing from successful models in other Pacific islands. For businesses, affordable ERP platforms like 1-Tok's Odoo can lower entry barriers, allowing SMEs to digitize without prohibitive upfront costs.
- Build Digital Literacy and Capacity: Launch nationwide education campaigns via schools, community centers, and mobile apps to promote digital skills, including AI basics. Capacity-building programs should focus on training local developers to adapt tools like LLMs for PNG languages—e.g., collaborating with tech giants like Google or xAI to fine-tune models on Tok Pisin and indigenous dialects. Workshops on platforms like Odoo ERP can equip business leaders with practical skills for inventory management and sales automation.
- Reform Regulations for Faster Adoption: Streamline legal frameworks through a dedicated Digital Authority to expedite approvals and attract foreign investment. This addresses past absences of cloud providers by creating "digital sandboxes" for testing innovations without bureaucratic delays, facilitating easier rollout of ERP solutions.
- Foster Inclusive, Culturally Sensitive Innovation: Develop localized content and AI tools that respect PNG's cultural diversity, such as voice-enabled services in multiple languages. Community-led pilots in highland provinces can ensure solutions bridge social divides, with businesses leveraging customizable ERPs to tailor operations to local contexts.
Recent initiatives, like IT startups bridging urban-rural gaps through affordable apps, show promise in balancing innovation with cultural values. With sustained effort, these changes could increase internet penetration from ~20% to 50% by 2030, unlocking economic gains estimated at 2-3% annual GDP growth—particularly if businesses prioritize digitization via accessible platforms like 1-Tok's Odoo.
What We Do: Contributing to PNG's Digital Future
We are actively supporting these efforts by hosting webinars on digitization, featuring international experts to share best practices on AI adoption, cloud integration, and ERP implementation—tailored for PNG audiences, including sessions on platforms like Odoo for business transformation.
Additionally, we partner with local ICT groups, through our sister company, www.1-Tok.com, as Odoo specialists, to deliver leadership and skills training programs, empowering 100's of participants annually in areas like digital governance, LLM localization, and ERP deployment. These initiatives align directly with capacity-building needs, fostering a collaborative ecosystem for sustainable change. If you'd like to join an upcoming webinar or explore partnership opportunities, reach out!