—-24 graduate in Financial Literacy, Small Business Training

Government’s ability to provide employment is limited and persons should aim to be entrepreneurs as 24 more persons graduate from courses in Financial Literacy and Small Business Training Programmes.

This is according to Assistant Director on Economic Empowerment, Samuel Saul in his remarks at the closing ceremony of training held at the National Racquet Center, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown on Saturday.
The programme was hosted under the Ministry of the Presidency Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sport empowerment. In total 169 persons have benefited from the programme.

“In any country, the populace needs to be aware that no government can provide employment for all its citizens, as a consequence this training serves our youth in their quest to become entrepreneurs,” he said. The Assistant Director on Economic Empowerment in giving an overview of the programme said the finance literacy and business programme was conceptualised almost four years ago by the then Presidential adviser on Youth Empowerment Aubrey Norton and team.

He said that the programme is geared towards proving youths with the necessary skills and knowledge as they gravitate towards becoming entrepreneurs.
Saul said the financial literacy and the management of businesses were taught to the participants. He explained that there were two batches of students for this year, with one course from April to May and the other September to October, 2019.

“All two of the programmes persons showed enthusiasm in joining the programme. However, as we would know when a programme commence everyone will not necessarily complete it and so in our first batch, there were a total of 25 persons who registered, but only 12 persons completed,” he said.

He continued: “And then in the last batch we had a total of 38 persons who registere

d, only 24 completed. One of the important things about this programme is to look at discipline, and this meant persons must be punctual in terms of their attendance.”
Underscoring that each individual was required to present a business plan, Saul said multiple innovative plans were submitted.

“We recognized that a number of persons would have either established businesses or strengthen their businesses, some of those businesses in which persons are operating are; agro-processing, wine production using local barks and fruits, rearing of honey bees and the manufacturing of honey and the byproducts, stationery and photocopy shop just to mention a few,” Saul noted.

The Assistant Director on Economic Empowerment said youths need the training and resources to establish their own businesses as a means of providing for their livelihood.
He noted that the plans that were submitted have the opportunity to vie for grants under the youth innovate project of Guyana which falls under the Department of Youth. Further, he noted that the plans must be in the areas of science, technology, engineering, agriculture, anthropology, archeology, architecture, the arts, mathematics and spirituality.
“Because our training is nonresidential, we have only been able to attract persons form regions three and four. However, as a means of expanding this training to other regions, we are proposing to have a residential programme come 2020,” Saul disclosed.

He added that finance is not just about making money but achieving deep goals and protecting the fruits of labour, stewardship and achieving a good society.
Programme Facilitator Daren Torrington said an entrepreneur culture among youths in Guyana is very important and the programme is a testimony of the Ministry’s effort to promote economic development and ventures in Guyana.

He explained that entrepreneurship as a career is no longer a luxury, but a necessity since the conventional way of seeking employment is no longer adequate in society.
“Entrepreneurship is the key, when our young people are given opportunities, their skills, abilities, innovation, energy and enthusiasm they possess will most certainly eliminate the socio-economic issues that exist,” he said.

Adding that the training programme is a testimony that young people once given opportunities will deliver, Torrington said the Ministry must be congratulated in the efforts in the finance literacy and business programme.

“This finance literacy and small business training programme with the objective of each participant submitting a business proposal over a six week training period is a unique one, it had enlisted 24 participants who had the opportunity to run a practical one-day business operation and share their experiences with the investment of just $20,000 given to two groups,” he explained.

He noted that profits ranged from $49,000 and $70,000 in respective groups.
Noting that the training programme required discipline, he said this was measured by attendance, creativity, innovation and determination measured in the submissions of business proposals received.

He said being an entrepreneur is not easy but with self-determination and focus on overcoming challenges success is inevitable.