News

The platform behind Papua New Guinea’s first digital strata title has won the Corporate Innovation Award at the 2026 Innovation PNG Awards. The award was presented at a breakfast at the Hilton Port Moresby on 3 June 2026. The judges chose the Digital Strata Title Platform, which we built with the Department of Lands and Physical Planning (DLPP), from five finalists in the corporate category, in a year when the fourth Innovation PNG Awards, run by Business Advantage PNG, drew a record 79 entries.

The judges said the platform “has the potential to revolutionise the management of all land titles in PNG”. Gregory Mataenge of Vodafone PNG, the category’s sponsor, presented the award. See all the 2026 winners.

On 26 March 2026, the platform issued Papua New Guinea’s first digital strata title. A single unit within a multi-unit development can now be owned in its own right, with its title created, registered and issued digitally.

The Strata Title Act and the Strata Title (Management) Act became law in 2022, and the platform puts them to work. In July, Business Advantage PNG explained the two problems it solves: slow, paper-based processes with many parties, and proving where a title came from. With the first title issued, the 2022 legislation took practical effect, opening the door to more affordable home ownership for Papua New Guineans.

“PNG is producing world-class technology solutions to real problems that matter to our people, our economy, and our future.”

James Inglis, Chief Executive Officer, NiuPay

“We started NiuPay because we genuinely believe Papua New Guinea deserves technology that is built for it, not bolted on.”

Jason Kurdzinski, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, NiuPay

The platform is one part of DLPP’s wider modernisation of land administration through eLands and GoLands, the national land administration and revenue platform we’ve built and run with the Department since 2020.

Thank you to DLPP for its leadership, partnership and trust; to Business Advantage PNG, Innovation PNG and Vodafone PNG for recognising the work; and to the Department of Information and Communications Technology and Amazon Web Services for supporting us along the way. Above all, congratulations to the NiuPay team: this award is yours.