Steven Matainaho

Steven Matainaho is the Secretary of the Papua New Guinea Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). He is responsible for national leadership and implementation oversight of digital government, digital identity, cybersecurity, and government ICT infrastructure.

He has led the formulation and rollout of Papua New Guinea’s core digital policy and legal framework, including the Digital Transformation Policy, the Digital Government Act 2022, the Digital ID Policy, the Data Governance and Protection Policy, the Government Cloud Policy, and the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy. These instruments provide the legal and institutional foundation for the country’s digital public infrastructure agenda.

Steven oversees the delivery of key national platforms, including the e-government services portal, SevisPass Digital ID, SevisWallet, interoperability and data-exchange frameworks, and government cloud services. His work focuses on enabling secure, interoperable digital services, strengthening trust in digital systems, and expanding access to government and financial services.

He has over 15 years’ experience in senior public-sector leadership, including as Deputy Secretary for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Instrumentation from the Papua New Guinea University of Technology and a Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing and Communications from Wuhan University, China. He was self-taught in computer programming at an early age and regularly represents Papua New Guinea at regional and international forums on digital government, digital identity, connectivity, and ICT policy.