BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, November 21, 2022 (SKNIS) – The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) within the Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship concluded its Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrations with a well-supported Business Expo on November 18, 2022. Senior Business Advisor within the SBDC Mr. Delwayne Delaney described the business expo as a success.
“The expo was definitely a success. We had over 27 businesses in different sectors within the small business industry. We had a cross-section of businesses from haircare, skincare, technology, you name it, we had it present and on showcase. It was very important for us to have this event to give some of the small businesses exposure. These businesses have been doing great work but were not being seen at the forefront. In speaking to some of these businesses they mentioned that they enjoyed the exposure. Yes, they were able to make some sales but from the broader picture they were able to get the necessary exposure with the general public that may help grow their business in the long term,” said Mr. Delaney.
The Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship plans to increase government investment in small businesses by providing much-needed financing and training to business owners to help improve their marketing and productivity.
“One of the things that we set out to achieve is the engagement of our manufacturers in a way in which we can see where their difficulties are so that we can provide a more targeted type of support. For instance, we would have an opportunity to look at the products and see things like costing to manufacture certain products to get them to market the cost of the imports at the border, and their ability to export products with logistics being a real impediment. With the items we had on display, we really need to get some of these items out in the region and we discussed with the small business owners how we can work together to make the situation better, particularly from a logistical standpoint. We are going to look into further training that will assist with cost evaluation in an effort to ensure that our local producers can remain competitive in the international marketplace,” said Director Mr. Philip Browne.
Global Entrepreneur Week 2022 was celebrated under the theme “Building Forward Better- Creating Equality and Equity through Entrepreneurship”. The Small Business Development Centre is located on the 1st floor of the Nagico Building and all small business owners are encouraged to register their business with the unit.
-30-
