THE Small Business Bureau is offering relief grants and services to registered small businesses experiencing significant losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The bureau, on Sunday, disclosed that the relief support is to strengthen and sustain small businesses, through provision of relief grants to sustain business operations and retain employees, along with training and development support to establish and market businesses through online platforms, diversify businesses and forge supply partnerships.

Recently, officials from the Ministry of Business Small Business Bureau (SBB) and the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) had said that they had begun to evaluate the situation, to gauge what help could possibly be offered.

“We are working out a menu of measures to help them,” shared IPED CEO, Ramesh Persaud.
IPED is a not-for-profit organization that provides business guidance, technical assistance, training and finance to micro and small business entrepreneurs.

“We have been in contact with our clients, listening to their challenges. At this stage it is too early to make a full assessment and say what those measures will be specifically, but we do intend to put measures in place,” Ramesh said in a telephone interview last Wednesday.

At the SBB, CEO Lowell Porter also said the bureau began talks with some of the businesses registered with them.

“We are now talking to them to be guided by what they’re saying. We are asking them straight up what their difficulties since the coronavirus outbreak. From that we are going to understand what they are going through,” Porter explained.

Though the bureau has approximately 10,000 businesses on its database, Porter said, by law, the bureau can only work with those businesses that have been compliant. Only 400 of the registered businesses have been compliant.

Porter commended the moratorium that some commercial banks have put in place, thereby allowing persons leniency on their loan payments. He noted, however, that the bureau is limited in the help it can extend.

“There are a lot of expectations on what the SBB can provide to these businesses that are not true. The SBB doesn’t lend any money; we’re not a lending agency, there’s nobody repaying us for anything,” Porter said.

He suggested that small businesses band together and assess ways in which they could even help each other out. “I advise that they start working together. For example, if you own a restaurant arrange with a delivery service. I believe there are opportunities, but we need to talk to the clients first and see what is going on, and we just started that process,” Porter said.

Porter said the bureau is also helping clients with the setting up of online platforms.
“They have to maintain an interface with their clientele. If the business can be done online, they can utilize an online portal. If they do not have one, we are reviewing how to help them have an online presence,” Porter said.

Persons interested in the grants being offered can contact the bureau on email: funding@sbb.gov.gy and telephone 633-7101, 633-7102 and 608-8494.