Empretec Guyana and Republic Bank Guyana are again partnering on the “Venture Out!” programme for women entrepreneurs, which will be complemented this year by a loan competition with prizes totalling $1 million.
According to a press release from Empretec, this is the fourth successive year that it is partnering with the bank on this initiative, which started yesterday in Region Four with the largest number of registered participants for a single workshop to date.
The loan financing competition is the highlight of this year’s programme. It entails providing women entrepreneurs with advice on how to meet Republic Bank’s requirements for financing, apart from the Bank’s existing mechanisms for easy access to credit facilities from which previous participants have benefited. The competition is open to all participants in this year’s programme.
The programme will close on June 21 in Region Three, which has been included on the agenda based on a request from previous participants. The programme will also be conducted in Region Six on Thursday, Region Ten on June 10 and Region Nine on June 17.
According to Empretec, the programme targets participants with the relevant business development tools aimed at success. It advises participants on the requirements for establishing a viable business and provides a framework of how to run a business successfully. This empowerment exercise aims to help boost self-confidence by creating entrepreneurial awareness as well as equipping participants with critical business skills.
To date, the programme has targeted women entrepreneurs in regions Two, Four, Six, Nine and Ten. By the end of the year, it would have assisted over 500 women entrepreneurs.
