Start small, grow big
Prime Minister and acting President Moses Nagamootoo perusing the display set up by the Master Class Institute at the Youth Business Summit (Adrian Narine photo)
Prime Minister and acting President Moses Nagamootoo perusing the display set up by the Master Class Institute at the Youth Business Summit (Adrian Narine photo)

…Business summit tackles youth unemployment

WITH youth unemployment still relatively high in Guyana, the Ministry of Social Cohesion through the Department of Youth launched an inaugural two-day Youth Business Summit, geared at creating an enterprising young population. And Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo has urged young entrepreneurs not to be afraid to start small and later grow their businesses.

The inaugural Youth Business Summit was launched at the Pegasus Hotel on Wednesday under the theme: “Bridging youth business leaders of tomorrow, today.”
The summit is geared at fostering community development and employment of youth in communities throughout Guyana. It stresses the incorporation of Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Architecture, Archeology, Anthropology, the Arts, Mathematics and/or Spirituality (STEAMS), a concept birthed last year at the launch of Youth Week.

Delivering the feature address Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo who is also performing duties of the President said the summit is geared towards empowerment and education, noting that one cannot become an engineer, a teacher, a business person or entrepreneur without the requisite guidance, training, knowledge and exposure. He said it is the embracing of opportunities for education, networking, skills-enhancement and overall empowerment that will allow youths in particular to fully realise the fundamental human right to the enjoyment of work.

Mr Nagamootoo reminded the gathering that not long after the coalition took office in May 2015, Government completed the drafting of a National Youth Policy, which was the final result of several years of research studies. The policy, he said defines youths as persons between the ages of 14 and 35, who make up some 68% of our population. “However, when we came to office there were no statistics on how many of our youth population had no jobs, or couldn’t get support to start their own businesses. But the Caribbean Development Bank in 2015 issued a report under the title “Youth are our future” that placed unemployment in the Region amongst youth at around 40%, which was probably also the level for Guyana. “

The Prime Minister said about the same period, CARICOM governments commissioned an analysis of opportunities and challenges facing youths in the Region. Its report, Eye on the Future: Investing in Youth NOW for Tomorrow’s Community, highlighted rising youth crimes, unemployment and drugs use. It launched a Caribbean Community Youth Development Action Plan, which placed emphasis on encouraging youth entrepreneurship.
At a 2016 United Nations Panel discussion on “human rights, youth and employment” held in Canada, it was noted that our planet never had such a large number of young people between 10 and 24 years of age, and that creating decent, quality work was one of the challenges shared by all States.

Out of the cold

He said in Guyana, the administration has recognised that our youths must be brought out from the cold, and into the social, economic and political processes of the State, which is often the arena of boiling hot controversies. “But our young people cannot be left outside or left behind. They have to push at every door of opportunity to be employed, self-employed or to start a business venture.”
He said he had seen the Rationale Document for this summit and was satisfied that the Department of Youth, guided by Minister Dr George Norton has a handle on the main issues that stand in the way of our young people. One of the items in the document is that “many young entrepreneurs are unaware of the challenges they might face when establishing a new business, and how to surmount those challenges. Networking, in this regard, can be very beneficial.”
Further, Mr Nagamootoo said the summit will make capital available for a carefully selected few who will be subject to processes and procedures. Once criteria are satisfied, some participants will be able to access capital at this forum.

The requisite tools

This forum aims to provide you with the resources, tools, networking opportunities and training that can provide for success in entrepreneurship and success as an employed professional in a field of your choice. You may have an interest in learning how to find a mentor, how to access loans, how to understand national support systems and procedures in Government, how to learn a new skill – whether by way of the Ministry of Business, the Department of Youth, the Public Service College, the University of Guyana – whichever the method – seize this opportunity to understand what is available and how you can best prepare yourself for the ambition that drives you.

Training

Additionally, Mr Nagamootoo urged the youths to take full advantage of all opportunities for skills training and to be competent managers of businesses, however small. He said

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo delivering remarks at the opening ceremony (Adrian Narine photo)

besides opportunities here in Guyana, scholarships and training have been negotiated with several countries such as Mexico, India and China, to help provide relevant exposure for your growth, development and, ultimately, your freedom of choice and enjoyment of work.
The door to education and opportunities has been opened to give, according to President Granger, Access, Attendance and Achievements – the Triple A Policy. Then, to help you get through the Triple As, President Granger had rolled out the 4 Bs Policy — boats, buses, bicycles and books. Today, our young people can transition to the Cs Policy – of entering Commerce, accessing Cash as grant, Credits and business Counselling. This Summit therefore is of critical importance to encourage youth empowerment and to realise that vision of the Youth Policy in a nation where all young people are “safe, healthy and included in society”.

Responsibility

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, highlighted that “business is not easy”. He, however, sought to encourage young people to learn responsible business practices.
Minister Gaskin also said that his ministry and the government generally will seek to promote an enterprising population that can create jobs for themselves. To do so, however, the government has been fostering measures to provide forums for education and channels to access capital.
While the youth business forum is one programme which provides leeway for youths to become edified and to possibly score startup grants for well-developed proposals, the prime minister noted that the government has taken steps to reduce the level of youth unemployment in Guyana.
“Guyana has partnered with several international bodies and has sought funding to help kick-start youth businesses,” he related.

PRODUCTIVE DRIVE

Further, he stressed that embedded in youths is the drive to be productive and they must be placed at the centre of Guyana’s development.
“The aspirations of our young people to be independent breadwinners, homemakers and successful business owners have been captured in our national youth policy which guides the advancement and empowerment of youths in the political, social, cultural, and economic spheres with the aim of placing them at the centre of Guyana’s development,” he advanced.
He also identified President Granger’s Triple A Policy: Access, Attendance and Achievement and the Four Bs Policy: Boats, buses, bicycles and books as programmes put in place to advance youth development. Now, adding to the impetus being placed on entrepreneurship the three Cs Policy: Commerce; accessing Cash as grants and credits and business Counselling, has been touted.

Using these tenets as transition mechanisms, the prime minister advanced that this summit is therefore of critical importancem to encourage youth empowerment and to realise that vision of the youth policy of a nation where all young people are safe, healthy and included in society.

Adding to the prime minister’s sentiments, Minister of Social Cohesion, George Norton, reminded that when the coalition government took office, it promised the nation to create jobs, particularly for the youths.

“It is with this effort in mind — that promise we made — that recently we took a green paper to Cabinet on the establishment of a National Youth Service,” Norton said. “This National Youth Service would be under the remit of the Ministry of Social Cohesion and all the different projects and projects that might be on stream at this point in time would come under what is referred to as the Common Core Curriculum,” the minister remarked.
This would focus concerted efforts on developing youth in all spheres, including employment.

The Department of Youth called for a maximum of 100 participants a few weeks prior to the summit, which was structured around providing those participants with a channel to inculcate and hone business capacities and proposals and translate them into feasible projects that would add to community development.
The summit will culminate on Thursday with participants presenting their business proposals to a panel to possibly receive start-up capital.

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