APPROXIMATELY 260 students from various schools in Linden, Region 10, have participated in the first phase of a National State of Entrepreneurship Survey, which is geared towards gathering critical information needed to craft relevant programmes and initiatives, to enhance entrepreneurship in Guyana, particularly among young people.
The government survey is being executed via the Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commerce, headed by Oneidge Walrond. On Thursday, the survey was piloted with the participation of five schools, namely the Linden Foundation Secondary School, the McKenzie High School, Harmony Secondary School, Wisburg Secondary, and the New Silver City Secondary Schools.
Speaking with students about the initiative, Director of Business and Entrepreneurship under the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry, John Edghill, said that his team would be partnering closely with other ministries and agencies to develop comprehensive programmes that will expose school leavers to the fascinating world of entrepreneurship.

The survey, according to the Director, will serve as an insight into the needs and necessary adjustments that will have to be made to ensure that school leavers and young adults are fully apprised of the options that exist for them to become business owners. The ministry is hopeful that the survey would inspire and perhaps even pave the way for students to realise their dreams of becoming businesspersons in various sectors. “We have plans for pushing entrepreneurial development. For those who have aspirations of pursuing business and even those who don’t yet understand the concepts of entrepreneurship, we will bring that information to you and will design practical programmes that can benefit you,” Edghill noted.
He said that the Tourism Ministry wants students to have more practical knowledge of entrepreneurship, so as to guide them towards making more informed decisions on possible career options, once they leave the school system. He also pointed to several existing initiatives which seek to provide guidance and assistance to small and even first time businesspersons; one such enterprise, he indicated, is the Small Businesses Bureau, which opens doors for young people to access the requisite resources to either start or grow their businesses.

PROVIDE TRAINING

“The ministry and the Small Business Bureau will help you to develop your business plans and ideas and give you the training needed and some financing, that can propel you to a place where you can earn on your own and improve your standard of living,” the Director informed the rather attentive students.
The Survey, according to the ministry was also completed by more than 50 established entrepreneurs currently operating in Region 10. The National State of Entrepreneurship Survey is expected to be extended to other secondary schools students, as well as the general adult population, in all regions across Guyana.
Only recently, the Small Business Bureau (SBB) signed off on $20 million in grants for various persons seeking to establish businesses within the information technology or ICT sector.
In January, 20 persons received one million each, as grants under the Bureau’s Green Tech Fund. The monies provide support for impressive existing and start-up businesses that are technology and environmentally based. Persons, who recently benefitted from the grant, include Kaimwantie Seenarine, of ‘Smart Learning Guyana’ who is working towards developing a mobile app that will provide academic guidance to Guyanese children, even in the absence of internet connections.

Cherryann Greene, told reporters that she will be utilising her grant to launch a business called ‘Ridealong Gy’ which promotes the use of pedal cycles as a means of transportation in and around Georgetown, in an effort to reduce the carbon emission foot print that continue to have detrimental impacts on the environmental and human health.
Rupesh Ganpat, a veteran in the banking industry, also received his one million to develop an app designed to guide persons through the loan processes that exist in Guyana.
The Small Business Bureau is a semi-autonomous agency established by the Small Business Act of 2004, which states that “small business” accounts for any person or persons, “including a body corporate or unincorporated, carrying on business in Guyana for gain or profit and satisfying at least two of the following conditions: Employs not more than twenty-five persons; has gross annual revenues of not more than GYD$60M; has total business assets of not more than GYD$20M.
As early as next week, the government will be looking to propose, in the National Assembly, several amendments to the Act, which will adjust the abovementioned figures, as a means of “leveling the playing field” for small businesses, especially as Guyana continues to undergo rapid modernisation.
The amendments, according to Tourism Minister, Oneidge Walrond, would provide support needed for small businesses to successfully operate and perhaps even compete in Guyana’s ever-evolving investments sector.