GUYANA’S first Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WCCIG), which was established last July, will be officially launched at the Pegasus Hotel on November 21.
WCCIG co-founder and President, Kerensa Gravesande-Bart, said the chamber was birthed out of a need for a collective movement to assist women to achieve success and economic independence through business ownership and self-employment.

WCCIG intends to create equal and fair business opportunities by fostering an environment that nurtures the growth of women-owned businesses in Guyana.
Added to that, it will assist women business owners (members) to meet international standards and become certified to benefit equitably from procurement opportunities from major purchasing entities and certified minority and women suppliers. All members will include women that reflect diversity in ethnicity, industry and business stages.

Gravesande-Bart, who formed WCCIG along with Lyndell Danzie-Black, said the chamber is a dynamic organisation dedicated to empowering women.
“Our priority is to harness our members’ economic power in the country and improve the lives of women while stimulating their socio-economic growth. Our number one goal is to work together in harmony to advance the agenda of women empowerment economically and socially,” the WCCIG President said.

It is her belief that real empowerment of women would be possible only through education, encouragement of economic self-dependence, easy access to growth capital and provision of opportunities.
“It is time for all of us to unite our efforts to spread WCCIG’s wings and embrace our diversity and richness across the country in collaboration with all our partners,” Gravesande-Bart said while encouraging businesswomen to join the chamber.

“Share in our journey as we strive to attain our vision of being the voice that inspires integrity, empowerment, collaboration, and leadership,” she said, iterating that the chamber will be the voice of women in the world of business.

WCCIG has seven Board of Directors, they are: Kerensa Gravesande-Bart – Chief Executive Officer, Strategic Recruitment Solutions Inc; Lyndell Danzie-Black – Managing Director, Cerulean Inc; Renata Exeter – Chief Executive Officer, GUYOIL; Anije Lambert – Managing Director/Researcher, Professional Development Consultants; Sherry Ann Dixon – International Motivational Speaker/Journalist; Tamara Khan – Attorney-at-Law; and Jennifer Cipriani – Managing Director, ACME Marketing Consultancy.