GEORGETOWN Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Lance Hinds has stressed that entrepreneurship and innovation must play a fundamental role in the transformation and ultimate success of the country’s economy.Speaking at the Chamber’s 125th Annual General Meeting (AGM), Hinds said it is critical for all stakeholders to work on advancing entrepreneurial success and facilitating the growth and commercialisation of new products and ideas by local, budding entrepreneurs.
“We believed that it was also critical that the culture of innovation be developed and nurtured: Getting high school and university graduates to tap into their creativity and to channel that into creating businesses. There are lots of young people with great ideas who are unable to convert those into sustainable income-generating operations,” he told the gathering of private sector officials and members of the diplomatic corps at the AGM held recently at Duke Lodge, Kingston, Georgetown.
To this end, he said the Chamber has worked tirelessly to develop a series of initiatives to contribute to the development of an entrepreneurial-driven environment.
Working either on its own or with local and regional stakeholders, the chamber hosted seminars and workshops to promote entrepreneurship awareness and education. Partners included Caribbean Export, USAID/Skye, Scotiabank and CUSO International.
Reporting on the work of the chamber the previous year, Hinds said one of the highlights of the year was an Entrepreneurship Seminar conducted in partnership with Scotiabank.
The idea was to introduce the concept and benefits of entrepreneurship, its potential contribution to the nation and an overview of the preparation and level of effort required to be successful.
ONLINE EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE
That aside, he said: “We expanded our partnership with the USAID Skye programme. Along with hosting the online employment exchange, we participated in the development of the training manual for the programme’s ‘Be Your Own Boss’ initiative. The next step is to help coordinate the mentoring sessions with the hope of encouraging students to create their own businesses and provide the guidance necessary for them to be successful. This was another example of how we expanded beyond our traditional this year,” the GCCI President told the gathering.
Its partnership with the Canadian volunteer organisation, CUSO International, was one that was quite new for the chamber.
It allowed the chamber to preach the gospel of entrepreneurship to sections of the society that under normal circumstances and with our legacy disposition we would not normally reach. The Chamber of Commerce is generally conservative in nature and action. Our interactions with youth groups and gender-focused organisations are extremely instructive and beneficial. It gave us a wider and clearer understanding of what it would take holistically to build the positive, inclusive business environment that we desire, Hinds said.
On that note, he said the chamber hosted its first youth development camp in collaboration with SASOD and the Guyana National Youth Council.
It is to the Chamber’s credit as well that this is the first time that CUSO International has partnered with a private sector organisation for this kind of effort.
CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP
The Chamber also continued its partnership with the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) again during this year to encourage Guyanese businesses to participate even further in the Accelerated and Regular procedure grant programmes that CEDA offered to regional businesses under the 10thEuropean Development Fund.
“We conducted awareness and training sessions with local grant awardees regarding the reporting and accounting functions that were necessary to ensure that all expenditure was refunded seamlessly and without unnecessary delay. In collaboration with CEDA, we also hosted a ProNet training programme which facilitated training for those companies which were desirous in increasing their knowledge and capacity to become export-led entities,” Hinds said.
On the business support side, the Chamber continued to conduct seminars and training programmes to support the building advancement and capacity needs of its members. Through the Chamber, members received training in labelling and packaging, bank financing and loan applications, marketing and thought leadership.
It also hosted a number of lectures and workshops during the 2014-2015 period of reporting. These include a lecture on Anti-Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, public discussion on the Local Government System, grant procurement training, and gender equity in business employment.
This aside, the Chamber collaborated with the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) on a trade mission to Guyana and coordinated the Business to Business sessions between Guyanese and Trinidadian business entities.
As part of its societal and community inputs, the Chamber donated $355,000 to the University of Guyana to assist them with their preparation for their 50th Anniversary celebrations.
In addition, it donated some $1.5 million worth of breathalyser equipment to the Guyana Police Force, to assist them in their fight to reduce the level of drunk driving on the roadways.