Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited and EMPRETEC (Guyana) are once again collaborating to run the, “Venture Out!”  2013 programme, for women entrepreneurs, which is set to commence today in Region 4 (Demerara/Mahaica), with the largest number of registered participants for a single workshop to date.

The programme will also be conducted in Regions 6, 9 and 10 on June 6, 17 and 10 respectively, and will culminate on June 21 in Region 3 (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands).
A release from the Managing Director of EMPRETEC (Guyana), Ms. Judy Semple-Joseph yesterday noted that Region 3 has been specially included based on a request from previous participants.
The release also stated that this is the fourth successive year that Republic Bank and EMPRETEC are partnering on this programme, which was first implemented in June 2010.
And given the success of the programme over the past three years and considering the desire for improved access to financing by small businesses, a loan competition has been added to this year’s programme.
With prizes totalling $1M, this competition is open to all participants of the Venture Out! 2013 programme.
“The highlight of this year’s progamme will therefore be on guiding participants on how to meet the bank’s requirements for financing, notwithstanding the existing mechanism for easy access to Republic Bank’s credit facilities from which previous participants have benefited,” the released informed.
The Venture Out! programme is designed to provide target participants with relevant business development tools towards achieving their business goals. It advises participants on the requirements for establishing a viable business and provides a framework on how to run a business successfully.
According to the press release, this empowerment exercise is intended to help build self-confidence by creating entrepreneurial awareness as well as providing business skills in critical areas relevant for business success.
It further noted that the development of an entrepreneurial spirit is expected to encourage the use of sound business practices, while also building positive linkages within the community and, in the long run, improving the standard of living of participants.
The programme has previously targeted women entrepreneurs in Regions 2, 4, 6, 9 and 10 and by the end of this year’s programme, in excess of 500 women entrepreneurs would have been reached, beyond the projections.(Nadine Sanchara)