Nicole Greenidge of Island Leathers Inc. looking on as Minister of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce, Dwight Sutherland observes the shoes made with leather from black belly sheep skin.
Business Boost
The Ministry of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce is seeking to remove the red tape that hinders the growth of small businesses and agencies in order to stimulate growth, and by extension grow the economy.
Word of this came from Minister of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce, Dwight Sutherland, as he delivered the featured address during the 2018 International Day of Cooperatives celebrations, which took place at the Pelican Craft Village yesterday evening.
“It is the mission of my ministry … to facilitate the expansion of the entrepreneurial class in this country and drive growth,” he said.
“Growth is forward movement and to this end, we are committed to providing the much needed start-up capital for small and medium enterprises. We are going to remove a lot of the red tape and requirements that have hitherto been prohibitive for enterprising persons starting their businesses.”
As such, the minister is calling all persons to work together and with Government in order to achieve this goal, so that they will be aware of the necessary steps to take to facilitate this much needed growth.
“As a government we will be seeking to ensure that the cooperatives movement and its constituent businesses, farmers co-ops and credit unions, are included in shaping policy processes, particularly related to sustainability issues. This is my role, to ensure this happens, and I invite you to hold me accountable for including this sector as a key driver in national growth,” he said.
The Minister believes that it is time for society to explore innovative strategies to generate growth and development.
He spent the morning touring the various entrepreneurs’ booths, which displayed items such as beautiful jewellery made from wire, handmade healthy soaps made from charcoal and banks beer, and even shoes made from black belly sheep skin.
Nicole Greenidge, founder of Island Leathers Inc. was eager to show the different stages of the black belly sheep skin in the beautiful shoes that adorned her booth.