RESIDENTS of Barima Waini (Region One), particularly those in sub-regions; Mabaruma and Port Kaituma, will soon be benefitting from the services provided by the Small Business Bureau (SBB).

After a four-day stay in the region, the team from SBB concluded that there is need to open a help desk in the two communities so that persons in the region can have easier access to their services.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Junior Research Officer at SBB, Autimae Castello, explained that the bureau deals with clients every day, and they have realised that a lot of persons do not have the ‘know-how’ to start up a business.

It was then, they decided to start an “In-school entrepreneurship programme”, because they believe that if they introduce entrepreneurship in the schools, it will be a way and means of giving them an early start, and provide them with the basic knowledge of being their own business owners.

The programme also provides students with grants to start their businesses, and officers monitor the businesses and ensure that they are successful. Castello explained that their visit to Mabaruma was to continue with the programme. They visited North West Secondary School and donated $180,000 to be given to fourth and fifth form students, to invest in their own small businesses.

However, while they were in the region, they decided to scope out the areas, and they realised that the people there can benefit tremendously from their services, but the distance to travel to Georgetown is costly for many.

“A lot of persons call from all over, want to receive our services, but they are so far away and it is not possible to be back and forth. So the help desk is kind of like a support system for the people in Barima Waini,” Castello said.

She said that after engaging the Local Authorities (LA) in the region, they all agreed that a help desk will aid in boosting the economic aspect of the lives of the people, and by extension, the economic status of the region.

“The Regional Executive Officer (REO), Randolph Storm, has committed to getting the persons to work at the two locations, and we will provide them with the training for the job. The help desk in Mabaruma will be at the town council, and the REO said that he will work on the location for us in Port Kaituma,” Castello disclosed.

She also said that the LA’s asked if they (SBB) can introduce new business ideas to the residents, since the most common means of income is fishing, farming and selling clothes.
However, Castello said that SBB will first have to survey the region to see what is needed, before they can introduce ideas. This survey, she said, will be conducted during the course of this month, so that when the help desks are operational, persons can be given ideas as one of the services provided by the SBB. The opening of the help desks will be in the form of a ceremony, so that persons can be notified of the new addition to their villages.

The SBB is a government agency that was established under Guyana’s Small Business Act (2004), which assists small entrepreneurs with training, financial and business support options.