Georgetown: The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce announced that the Micro and Small Enterprise Development and Building Alternative Livelihoods for Vulnerable Groups (MSED) project will be officially launched on Monday October, 14, 2013 by President Donald Ramotar. A ceremony to mark the occasion will be held commencing 08:30hr at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, ECD.
The more commonly coined GRIF funded “Micro and Small Enterprise Development (MSED) Project” was designed to support the Government of Guyana’s goals with respect to poverty alleviation and the reduction of carbon emissions, as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals and the Low Carbon Development Strategy. The project is funded under the Guyana-Norway partnership. USD 10 million has been allocated for the project with an initial tranche of USD 5 million for the first phase (two years).
It is geared towards creating employment opportunities, particularly in low carbon type activities and among vulnerable groups of persons. The targeted development of low carbon sectors is expected to enhance the country’s thrust towards a ‘green economy’. The first phase of the project is expected to create or sustain approximately 2,200 jobs
Through the provision of innovative support services, the objective is to provide the appropriate climate for sustained growth and uniform diversification with a view to creating positive and measureable impacts.
This MSED project will provide incentives to micro and small enterprises through the promotion of financial products as well as business development services (BDS), via partnerships with several institutions. By so doing, two major bottlenecks affecting the survival and growth of small businesses, as well as the ability of persons to build alternative livelihoods will be addressed. That is:
(i) Limited access to finance and
(ii) Limited technical and business skills:
Access to finance will be addressed through a combination of an interest subsidy and support for a portion of the collateral required for loans. Additionally, there is a grant component to assist entrepreneurs with start-up activities. Business and technical training will be provided to entrepreneurs through established training institutions.
Business and technical training will be provided to entrepreneurs through established training institutions.
The project will be executed by the Small Business Bureau (SBB), an agency within the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce. Implementation will be monitored and evaluated by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which will administer social, fiduciary and environmental safeguards in collaboration with the Project Management Office, Office of the President; and the Ministry of Finance.
You must be logged in to post a comment.