…over $200M has been transferred to beneficiaries
THE Women of Worth (WOW) initiative that was launched by Central Government, through the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, is now one year old, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon reported earlier this week. Speaking at his weekly post-Cabinet briefing at Office of the President, Shiv Chandarpal Drive, Georgetown, Luncheon said over $200M was transferred to beneficiaries under the micro credit scheme. The facility, made possible though partnership with commercial banks, provided loans to over 1,000 women to date, he said.
Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand had said that the facility, in which the Government has collaborated with the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, will serve to alleviate poverty generally, and specifically, among single parent women.
She had said, also, that it would make women more financially independent and would thus reduce the incidence of violence against women and children. It will further serve to catapult Guyana closer to a place where the country genuinely enjoys the benefits of gender equality, the minister had said.
“All in all,” she said, “this facility would be excellent and should be seen as another tool in the effort to empower women.”
Manickchand said the criteria for benefit from the facility are that applicants must be women, single parents, between the ages of 18 and 60, earning under $40,000 monthly, and they must be included in the single parents register.
The minister said, too, that applicants must be in possession of a skill or must have expertise in the field in which they wish to begin their business.
No collateral would be needed. Further, a minimum of $100,000 and a maximum of $250,000 will be issued at a repayment rate of 6% per annum.
The loan must be repaid in two years.