The newly established Mark Benschop Centre is seeking, among other things, to “empower and equip” ordinary Guyanese who are seeking to find their way in the local entrepreneurial environment, according to the Centre’s Director Mark Benschop.
The Mark Benschop Centre opened its doors at the popular Courtyard Mall in Robb Street three weeks ago and Benschop, who told Stabroek Business that he is, among other things, a businessman said that the facility is open to all Guyanese who can be helped by the services that it provides. “One of the things that we can do through the development of a business culture is ensure the security of our families for generations to come,” Benschop said.
And according to Benschop the Centre “is about helping Guyanese of all walks of life. “We are not about to discriminate. There are no political or other such criteria for getting help from us,” Benschop said. He added that the Centre was particularly interested in providing “business-related empowerment” for young women and single mothers. “A single mother may come to us and she may be seeking the kind of help that enhances her marketability. We would like to think that we can help with courses in areas such as computer classes, cake-decoration courses or nail-technician courses, among others. Later on we will be offering Spanish classes and other courses that can impact directly on helping people to become more independent, Benschop said.
According to Benschop most of the members of the organization are overseas-based. “Some are Guyanese, some are non-Guyanese. Some are doctors; some are lawyers some are politicians and some are ordinary working class people and these people are the backbone of the Centre’s support,” he added.
The Mark Benschop Centre also offers public relations and business consultancies and also includes an Information Technology Centre with public internet facilities. “Our consultancies are concerned primarily with helping people to promote their business and we have access to experts in those fields,” Benschop said.
According to the Head of the Centre part of the focus of the facility is to cater for “ordinary people seeking services or seeking to build businesses.” He said that while the Centre was a business venture, part of its focus was on “working with people to ensure as far as possible that their needs can be satisfied.”
According to Benschop it was important that Guyana develop a business culture. “Except we master the art of business it is difficult for us to understand what ownership means… ownership of land, ownership of property. Business fosters a sense of ownership.”
