Lack of Government support and effort towards the development, and therefore, maintenance of public utilities and other infrastructures continue to cause major problems for business houses in Simbu. Over 95% of the Companies surveyed expressed concerns about this situation This situation is common in many other Provinces throughout the country. They strongly recommend that the basic infrastructures such as roads, bridges, telecommunication facilities, electricity, drainage and water distribution systems should be properly maintained at all times in order for businesses to operate normally.   

The poor conditions of the infrastructures have impacted negatively on their abilities to deliver goods and services on time and at reasonable prices. Urgent attention on this is very crucial for long term business operations for the companies given the small fragmented and fragile market.
In general, the growth of commerce and industry in Simbu is inhibited by a combination of factors including:

• Poor road conditions due to lack of maintenance;

• Faulty telecommunication system due to vandalism by landowners;

• Rising business costs due to high inflation causing uncertainties amongst business houses on their future;

• High interest rates increase cost of much needed capital;

• Unreliability of power supply coupled with a large fluctuation in voltage adversely affect business activities and Government services;    

• Business activities in most sectors are stagnant due to similar problems stated above, although there are increased interests in the Construction sector;

• Constant changes in the Provincial Government and the bureaucracy are also creating doubts amongst the business houses in the Province;

• Law and order problems reduce the prospects for a conducive business environment; and

• Existing difficult geographical landscape reduces the prospects for large-scale cash cropping and agricultural productions.

Despite these factors, the Simbu Provincial Government is ambitious and wants to see development in the Province. The Provincial Government has issued a Development Strategy Policy to be used as a guide toward that development process in the future.      

     
The development could be progressed by involving all the stakeholders in the Province such as the NGOs and the business community.  The information gathered on the 38 Companies that responded to the survey are summarized below:

• 87 percent of the firms are citizen owned whilst only 13 percent are foreign owned;

• The majority of the firms are concentrated in the Construction and Wholesale and Retail activities;

• Recorded a total capital investment of K9.8 million of which the citizen Companies accounted for 50 percent;

• Investment by citizen companies averaged around K0.15 million whilst investments by foreign companies averaged about K0.92 million;

• Lower investments by citizen firms reflect narrow capital base, and shows characteristics of been in business for self-employment and self-reliance;

• Capital formation indicated that most of the investments are geared toward short to medium term. This situation reflects uncertainty that exist within the business environment;

• Coffee industry and wholesale and retail sectors contribution the largest in sales;

• Citizen companies possess lower earning capacity due to lower scale of operations;    

• 97% of total employment are contributed by citizen Companies;

• 50 percent of the employment were created by citizen firms, reflecting characteristics of self-reliance as well as self-employment; and

• The Provincial Government to improve the delivery of services, as citizen enterprises are more vulnerable than foreign enterprises.