Sixty-four proprietors of local small businesses are expected to be the first recipients of grants under the Micro and Small Enterprise Development (MSED) project funded through the Low Carbon Development Strategy/Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (LCDS/GRIF) at a ceremony scheduled to take place at the Guyana International Conference Centre this morning.
President Donald Ramotar, who officiated at the launching of the project in October 2013, is scheduled to perform similar tasks today, where businesses are expected to receive grant funding to consolidate entrepreneurial pursuits in a range of sectors including poultry rearing, agriculture, agro processing, apiculture and business services. Stabroek Business understands that a further 19 business owners who had loans approved and/or disbursed by partner private financial institutions under a separate component of the project are also part of the awards ceremony. Those loans target business enterprises in the farming, manufacturing, business services and entertainment services, among others.
A press release issued by the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce describes the project as “a significant milestone in government’s contribution to the small business sector.” It said government, through the LCDS /GRIF facility has made available to the Small Business Bureau US$10 million to be utilized over four years for the purpose of funding and comprehensive training of small business entrepreneurs.
Observers monitoring the project have been critical of the of the approximately 16-month hiatus between the October 2013 launch of the project and the eventual disbursement of grants of approximately $300,000 each. The Bureau pointed to the fact that more than 900 persons have benefited from the training component of the project.
The project challenges beneficiaries of grants to create 2,200 jobs. They are also required to be registered as small businesses as defined by the Small Business Act of 2004 and compliant with the National Insurance Scheme and the Guyana Revenue Authority.
While the first phase of the project is deemed to have already begun and is scheduled to last two years, this newspaper understands that the oversight agency, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), will probably grant an extension period having regard to the lengthy delay in getting the project off the ground. The agreement to facilitate the release of the first tranche of US$5 million for the current phase of the project was signed by the Government of Guyana and the IDB in April 2013. This amount is expected to be dedicated to seeking to remove two of the major constraints to small business development, limited access to financing and a scarcity of technical and entrepreneurial skills.
Today’s ceremony is likely to be seen by both government and recipients of awards as the clearing of a major obstacle to the creation of an effective mechanism for small business development. Legislation designed to support local small business development is now in its eleventh year and official promises to create a Small Business Bureau, (under Section Six of the Act) the entity set up to administer the project, were made since 2010.
