Basseterre, St. Kitts, July 22, 2021 (SKNIS): Director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Philip Browne, said that there is business support available for street vendors through the SBDC that can redound to their benefit in what can be a very competitive market.
The government has moved to streamline street vending in Basseterre in an effort to improve safety and public health by placing the informal sector workers in a centralized location that Mr. Browne said will result in a win-win situation.
“We agree that these budding entrepreneurs, these vendors, the small business people, the micro-business people are critically important to our society,” said Mr. Browne on ‘Working for You’ on July 21, 2021.
“We would agree that the means by which they function, the environment et cetera, can also be challenging and detrimental to some of our more vulnerable persons as well,” he said.
Mr. Browne also stated that “The Government has enlisted me to this panel because at the Small Business Development Center, we interact with these entrepreneurs, these micro and small business persons and so the government would have been trying to ensure that its major business support arm is involved to provide the support as necessary”.
He stated that evidenced by his interaction with the vendors they agreed with the move, but that the communication and timing created some uncertainty.
“This is not a move that should be seen in the negative but actually, this is an upgrade, this is an opportunity to make changes and so what we are seeing is our department getting involved with helping some of these vendors to grasp this opportunity,” Mr. Browne said.
“Some of them may need to engage in some business development activities, some planning, and some may need to be involved in some more marketing; they may also need to be seeking financing to adapt to the environment with which they are now being placed in,” he said.
The director also specified that the vendors may want to look at business continuity strategies because persons in the micro and small sectors have historically not taken part in these strategies, such as insurance and social security.
GOVERNMENT OFFERS BUSINESS SUPPORT TO STREET VENDORS THROUGH THE SBDC
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