Residents of Regions Five and Six are expected to soon benefit from services being offered through the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce’s Small Business Bureau (SBB).
A help desk will be established within the respective regions to allow residents easier access to the agency’s services, thus reducing the need to travel to Georgetown.
Minister, Oneidge Walrond, M.P., made this disclosure, on Friday, after meeting with members of the various Chambers of Commerce, who expressed concerns about accessing the services.
The minister said an SBB officer will be sent to the respective regions to train selected individuals to lend support to small business owners. This is part of government’s effort to decentralise services.
“We are going to have a point person here (Regions Five and Six) that they can use and we will be in contact in terms of getting applications, import, export licences,” she explained.
Minister Walrond reiterated government’s drive to promote business development in Guyana, while explaining how this kind of support empowers existing and potential small business owners.
She noted that the ministry’s credit programme assists Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to access funds up to $30 million from commercial banks, while the Development Fund offers businesses grants limited to $500,000.
“A lot of people are not aware or they do not know what they need to do to get a bank loan. There are a lot of requirements and there are a lot of things that they need to comply with. At the Small Business Bureau we help.”
Minister Walrond is encouraging more commercial banks to partner with the Ministry to provide financial support to small businesses.
Republic Bank Guyana Limited and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) have already partnered with SBB.
SBB was established under Guyana’s Small Business Act (2004), to assist small entrepreneurs with training, and financial and business support options.