Over 1400 grants distributed by Small Business Bureau in 2022

The Small Business Bureau (SBB) has surpassed its 2022 grant distribution target by 631.
The agency had a budgetary allocation for the sum of $300 million for the distribution of 800 small business grants. However, by the end of 2022, the agency had distributed a total of 1,431 grants.
This was revealed to this publication on Wednesday by Director of Business and Entrepreneur Development, John Edghill. According to Edghill, the Bureau has also trained more than 2,000 business owners across the country in small business management, financial management, digital marketing, and business plan writing.
The SBB Fund has grown significantly since 2020. In the 2020 and 2021 budgets, the respective sums of $100 million and $250 million were approved. In December 2022, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Small Business Bureau, Muhammed Abraham, had called on persons not to wait on promotions to become eligible for grants from the agency.
The Bureau last year went on a countrywide outreach, encouraging entrepreneurs to become compliant and have their businesses registered.
Abraham noted that those who registered, had their businesses registered, and got their compliance certificates became eligible for business grants. Abraham said entrepreneurs do not have to wait on such promotions.
“We do continuous registration. Our focus is not only on grants, we are focused on developing businesses – sustainable growth,” Abraham told this publication. He was at the time speaking of the distribution of grants in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on December 17.
More than 100 business persons have received grants to the tune of $150,000 in Region Six. A similar exercise is slated to take place in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) on Thursday.
Abraham has said that once a person becomes a client of the Small Business Bureau, that person would have access to all services offered by the Bureau, which include grants, loans and training.
“We have unlimited training, because we can develop training based on the needs of a group of clients; and we help with promotions,” he explained.