Development agencies called on to provide guidance

Guidance must be provided to entrepreneurs to help them build sustainable businesses that can reach into the global market.

 

To make this happen, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, Stephen Lashley, issued a challenge to development agencies around the island.

 

“It is my fervent wish that development agencies, especially those that are part of the Barbados Small Business Development Centre Network including YES, BIDC, FundAccess and the SEED Programme at UWI SBDCs and partners at the Barbados Youth Business Trust and the Small Business Association take up the mantle to provide knowledge capital to help entrepreneurs understand markets, resources and government support opportunities; to offer social capital to connect entrepreneurs with mentors, customers, and partners to realise trading opportunities; and provide access to financial capital, including debt and equity financing and other forms of 

investment for start-up and expansion purposes,” he said.

 

Addressing those gathered at the School of Business at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies on Friday morning, including several of the heads of these establishments, he encouraged collaboration to create a supportive environment for youth entrepreneurship, and to develop a national entrepreneurship development system, so that a meaningful difference can be made to improving the fortunes of young people.

 

Noting that Government was often questioned as to what it was doing in response to the relatively high youth unemployment, he stressed that as long as there was investment in collective resources, the networks created would generate a high return for Barbados including increased employment among youth; co-ordinated and integrated quality business support services; enhanced data collection and greater information sharing; informed programming and research-led policy formulation; strengthened monitoring and evaluation systems; and improved business-to-business trade among young entrepreneurs.

 

“These outcomes will be phenomenal!” he added. (JMB)