11 young entrepreneurs secure funding for their businesses
As the Social Cohesion Ministry wrapped up its inaugural Youth Business Summit at the Pegasus Hotel, 11 persons were awarded financial grants to kick-start their businesses.
Director of Youth, Melissa Carmichael-Haynes (centre); Deputy Director of Youth, Leslyn Boyce (far left), along with the winners of the Jaguar’s Den and the panel of judges
Chairman of the Summit Committee, Ronald Austin, told Guyana Times that the 10 recipients received grants ranging between $500,000 and $1 million, based on their request and the scope of business to be initiated or completed.
He said that after these persons would have presented their business ideas to the panellists, an evaluation was done to select the winners.
The funding for the Summit, which totalled about $12 million, was financed by the monies allocated to the Youth Innovation Project, Austin added.
The first session of the two-day summit saw dozens of young entrepreneurs who were presented with hands-on knowledge from experienced individuals about the different aspects of venturing into a new business.
Throughout that day’s proceedings, presentations were made by entities such as the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Commercial Registry, Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), GO-Invest and Dr Rosh Khan.
In many cases, young entrepreneurs are unaware of the procedures and support systems which can assist in the establishment of a business enterprise. According to the coordinators and members of the various ministries, the summit was designed to assist them in critical areas, which included the lack of capital and increased knowledge on the ways to access capital, which can be one of the key hindering factors.
