GRADE 10 students of Bartica Secondary School (BSS) are reaping the harvest from their small businesses started with the help of the Small Business Bureau (SBB) of Guyana.
SBB launched an entrepreneur programme for Grade 10 students of BSS last November.

The programme was established to encourage students from an early age to be entrepreneurs so as to break cycles of poverty. Ten students were selected from the areas of Building Technology, Agricultural Science, Commercial Food Preparation and Principles of Business. These 10 students were given a sum of $30,000 to start a business of their choice. They were tasked with producing reports as well so teachers can keep track of their progress.

Of the 10 students, quite a few were outstanding in their businesses; Akila Hopkinson, Olivia Bobb, Shyla Khan, Barbara Cambridge, and Kevin Johnny. This information was provided to this newspaper by Head of the Agriculture Department at the said school, Sandra Gibson. Gibson said the students were enthusiastic about the programme and they came up with impressive ideas for their businesses and they have been managing them well.

One of the most impressive results thus far was that of Akila Hopkinson, who invested just $5,000 GYD into planting lettuce and gained a sum of $33,000 GYD profit. Ms. Hopkinson expressed to this newspaper how beneficial this programme has been for her and her family. “The money gained from this programme will come in so handy to pay for my CXC subjects and relieve my parents of that financial responsibility,” Hopkinson said.
Another outstanding one was Olivia Bobb who invested in broiler production. In total she gained $54,000 GYD profit which she used to purchase text books for school and a cellular phone to do research online. The remaining money she reinvested in her business.
Mrs. Gibson also commended Shyla Khan who earned a profit of $41,420 GYD in her frosty business and Kevin Johnny who gained so much he was able to build his own bond to sell fuel. “It was a really great initiative that SBB came up with to give them the opportunity to earn money and groom them into becoming responsible adults. I’m very much impressed with what the students have produced thus far and it is really helping them financially to purchase stuff for school, printing SBA’s etc,” expressed Ms. Sandra.

The students have committed themselves to keep their business ongoing so that when they finish school they will have a financial start in life.

The Small Business Bureau (SBB), was established under the Guyana’s Small Business Act (2004) to enable sustained growth and uniformed diversification within local sectors, with a view of creating positive measureable impacts through expert guidance, effectively channeled resources, comprehensive networking and provision of a supporting environment for maximised performance.