Having completed the Be Your Own Boss component of USAID’s Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE) programme, 70 young men and women were yesterday awarded individual grants of $200,000 to start their own businesses.
At the graduation ceremony yesterday, Youth Self-Empowerment Manager Karen Raphael said there was an overwhelming number of youths who opted to be trained under the BYOB component. However, with a participation number of 275 youths, and 112 business proposals, USAID was only able to fund 70 businesses.
Raphael explained that each recipient’s proposal would have undergone a feasibility assessment before selection, which included visits to proposed business locations and presentations by the recipients themselves. Additionally, mentoring will continue to be offered by SKYE coaches and visits will be made six months into the process to ensure sustainability of the businesses.
Some of the ventures being pursued by the recipients include a car wash, an ice-cream parlour, a beverage depot, a grocery, an internet café, poultry and livestock farms, snackettes, catering services, meat centres and block-making services.
Meanwhile, Junior Education Minister Nicolette Henry, who was also in attendance, noted that it is important to create opportunities to grow the minds of young Guyanese so that the future can be secured. Henry revealed that it is for this reason that the Government of Guyana has decided finance an additional 50 business proposals presented by other participants of the SKYE program’s BYOB component.
“No nation can develop without investing in its young people. Therefore, I want to ask you to never stop learning… Go on and contribute to society. Guyana needs you,” the minister charged.
She implored the successful recipients to take risks and be innovative in their business endeavours.
The SKYE programme, which is funded under the US’s Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), provides expansion in education, skill building and employment opportunities for at-risk youth in Guyana, with the goal of reducing youth crime and violence by strengthening economic participation and engagement.
Raphael revealed yesterday that the ‘Be Your Own Boss’ component of the SKYE programme has worked with over 2,600 youth to date and has been able to train 1,800 youth, while 900 youth have been linked to employment.
According to Chief of Party of the SYKE programme Magda Willis, after a rapid assessment of Guyana’s youth population was done, findings revealed that Guyanese youth represented the largest number of persons living in poverty and that there was little to no alternative sentencing options for youth who found themselves in the justice system. It was also found that both the private and public sector employees saw the youth as generally unprepared to enter the force workforce. With those findings in mind, the four key strategies of the programme were designed: Detention Prevention, Welcome Home, Get Ready to Work and Be Your Own Boss.
Also speaking at yesterday’s ceremony was US Ambassador to Guyana Perry Holloway, who congratulated the new business owners while expressing gratification knowing that his government played an integral role in not only assisting to launch businesses but also in generating income and jobs at the community level.
While acknowledging the numerous discussions he would have had with both government and private sector officials as it relates to the development of Guyana, Holloway said, “The collective commitment expressed to support the growth and development of young people and to provide avenues for them to realise their full potential was inspiring. It is clear that that both government officials and private citizens recognise that supporting youth development is a wise investment.”
Holloway noted that over 200 youths have been able to continue their studies, over 1,900 youths have received workforce development training, 700 are now employed and 60 entrepreneurs have been able to start businesses as a direct result of the programme’s mentoring, counseling and work-related training, all aimed at creating achievements that empower youth and change lives.
“We recognise that hard work and an enterprising spirit can often only mitigate difficult life circumstances and therefore opportunities have to be provided and systems put in place to provide assistance for those who are in greatest need. I am pleased that through the SKYE programme’s youth entrepreneurship initiative, Be Your Own Boss, we are able to identify gaps and provide tangible assistance… I encourage you to capitalise on future opportunities that may offer important prospects for a better life for you, your families and your community,” he stated
Additionally, while noting that the SKYE programme is expected to end in September, 2016, Holloway stated that the US government, through the USAID, will remain committed to working along with its local partners in supporting the youth development and empowerment work and reducing youth involvement in crime and violence in Guyana.
