–market studies to be conducted to identify areas for co-operation

HUNDREDS of persons are benefitting from the Small Business Bureau’s (SBB) Small Business Development Fund.
Through the 2021 budget, $250 million was allocated to the fund to finance small businesses through grants and loans.
Chief Executive Officer (ag) of the SBB, Vanessa Thompson said that, to date, more than half of the budgeted sum has been disbursed to develop small businesses countrywide. “For this year so far, we have already disbursed 354 grants. I should as well mention that from the Small Business Development Fund, we are also processing and disbursing COVID-19 relief grants… for this year we have already disbursed 30 COVID-19 relief grants… for the 354 grants disbursed so far, the total amount is $151.9 million and for the 30 COVID-19 grants, it is $5.9 million,” Thompson said.

Usually, the cap for grants is $500,000, but the limit for the COVID-19 grants is $250,000. The disbursement of grants is a commitment by the People’s Progress Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration to provide more incentives to small businesses and young entrepreneurs, including micro-credit facilities.
The creation of 50,000 jobs is another commitment the PPP/C government is determined to deliver. What better way to propel the commitment than by providing persons with avenues to become their own bosses and create employment for others. Thompson said the bureau will be hosting awareness sessions, so that more persons can take advantage of avenues available through the government to become entrepreneurs.
This will be done through ‘One-Stop Shop’ outreaches, similar to the one recently conducted in Region Two, where over 100 persons applied for grants. The next event will be hosted in Region Seven.

“This year, we really want to focus on providing more access to remote communities. The ‘One-Stop Shop’ is just one of the ways we would be doing this. The other way we would be doing this is by strengthening the services provided by our help desk services… we have help desks located in every region except Region Five and we are in discussion with representatives to establish a help desk there,” she said. The SBB will also be working to assist its clients through market linkages and analysis to access opportunities that are available locally, regionally and internationally. “We recently learnt of a company right here in Guyana that invested several millions into machinery that produce juice, but there is not enough juice available to that company. So, how can we link some of our clients, who are in agriculture and producing the crops that they need, to that company so that they can fill that gap? “So, we are looking to do market studies that will give us that sort of information, so that we will be able to better guide our clients and position them to access these opportunities,” the SBB head related. Thompson said the bureau will continue to work and find ways to strengthen small businesses that come under its purview. (DPI)