IN 2003, EMPRETEC Guyana was implemented as a project to support entrepreneurial capacity development.

Over the years, as it expanded and created a name for itself, EMPRETEC was rebranded as an organisation, but continues to maintain its original mandate of `Promoting Innovative and Internationally Competitive Enterprises’.

The Laluni Street, Queenstown-based organisation offers several key progammes which seek to build a coalition of public and private stakeholders, promote the development of businesses with an emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); strengthen entrepreneurial skills and domestic business development services; promote entrepreneurship in local communities, and contribute to the development of a dynamic private sector.

The organisation also conducts training workshops to promote entrepreneurial talents and business competency; advises with follow-up technical assistance and networking opportunities; enhances the export capacity of local enterprises; assists in identifying overseas market opportunities; and facilitates the building of contacts and linkages with foreign companies.

Included among the key training programmes is the internationally-certified “Supply Chain Management Course”, which the ExxonMobil-funded Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD) has identified as a useful medium through which they can build capacity.
The CLBD provides support to existing and potentially new suppliers and other stakeholders servicing the oil-and-gas industry.

In an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle recently, EMPRETEC‘s Administrator, Ms. Erin Kirton explained that the organisation has, since 2017, been working with the CLBD to train local operators from various companies that have registered with the Centre.
She noted that the international diploma training course is essentially intended to help companies become more efficient in their operations, starting from the raw materials all the way to the final consumer. That entails all inputs of the supply chain, such as the buying of raw material, procurement, manufacturing, production, final output sales and everything that goes into it.

The user-friendly, practical and effective training modules, that are ISO9001:2015 certified, help companies take advantage of new opportunities, reduce total purchasing and supply costs, and make optimum use of available resources. They provide the tools and techniques needed to develop innovative new approaches to supply chain management, and for the company to excel in an environment of global competition. The programmes help personnel in procurement, logistics, human resources, warehousing and distribution, and they make an immediate and substantial contribution to their company’s profitability, she reiterated.

According to Kirton, even though the training had all the while been provided as a service, it was not until the end of 2018 that persons began to show an added interest, and have been requesting to undertake the training and sit the examination.

Noting, too, that companies are also requesting training for their staff, Kirton opined that the greater consciousness may be because of what such training means for oil and gas, as the entire programme seeks to help companies to see how efficient they are, and how efficient their processes and methods are, to the point where it can positively impact their bottom line. “If your processes are efficient, it will help to reduce your cost and improve your profitability,” she added.

ExxonMobil Guyana, the operator of the Stabroek, Canje and Kaieteur Blocks offshore Guyana, has made several discoveries since 2015, and is set to begin producing up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day from the Liza Phase 1 development in early 2020.
EMPRETEC received the licence to conduct the training from the Geneva–based International Trade Centre in 2009, and had single-handedly started doing so from 2010 up to the present. It is now administering the programme in-house, and through the CLBD, she said.

There is also the `Venture Out!’ programme that consists of a series of simple motivational workshops and business support activities to stimulate within participants in the identified regions, the dream of getting out of poverty and realising their personal goals.

The training is applicable to participants who run small-scale business enterprises, as they will receive basic training in business management, including budgeting and cash- flow management, pricing, sales and marketing. Emphasis is placed on utilising EMPRETEC’s methodology for motivation and confidence building, as it has proven to be highly effective in the delivery of the programme, which currently is being adapted to other sectors.

Sponsored by the Republic Bank Ltd, `Venture Out!’ is a social and economic empowering programme for women who operate business on a small scale in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Four(Demerara-Mahaica), Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Nine (Upper Kakutu-Upper Essequibo) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

As it relates to EMPRETEC’s Community Development Project, Kirton explained that entrepreneurship and development of the private sector are essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of eradicating extreme poverty.

She noted that entrepreneurs offer a variety of services that make economies more resilient and less vulnerable to economic downturns. They also create a sense of practical optimism, where families and communities understand that going into business is a feasible and effective means of escaping poverty.

EMPRETEC holds these beliefs as the foundation for all its activities and designs, and implements relevant sustainable, commercially-viable business initiatives that expand access for low-income people to goods and services, as well as contribute to improved livelihoods.

Such projects, which assist with the development of targeted communities, are undertaken upon request, Kirton further explained.

Meanwhile, the organisation’s Entrepreneurship Training Workshop that had been called the most significant new development in entrepreneurship training, has regrettably been put on hold, as the organisation seeks new sponsors to have it continued, Kirton said. The training methods used for that programme are highly interactive and experiential. The workshop is divided into three sections, and focuses on the willingness, ability and tendency of participants to seek and attain improved quality, productivity, growth and profitability.

Participants also learn to identify personal entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses, as well as adopt a quality approach to business activities.