A new module known as the Mobile Money Learning Track was yesterday added to the HerVenture App (Guyana) to help women in businesses learn about methods of online payments through the Mobile Money Guyana (MMG) Inc.
At the launching which took place at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, programme manager of the app, Selena Bacchus, explained that the new feature will help women in business to become more familiar with online payments which they can eventually practice using for their businesses through MMG.
With the constant addition of new modules, the HerVenture App now has ten features where women can exclusively learn about starting or growing their businesses.
“So we’re continuing to add new tracks to ensure that we equip women with the knowledge in order for them to advance along with the business environment,” Bacchus added.
The Mobile Learning app which was launched in September, 2021, is now being used by over 4,000 women across Guyana, and hopes to impact some 6,000 more.
A user of the app, Sharmin Mohan, who operates a photocopying and laminating business, said that the new mobile money track has helped her customers save effort and time by having their payments done through MMG without having to face the busy traffic.
Raynuka Tulsiram, a part-time social media marketer, said that she acquired the app when she went to Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT) to pay her bills and since then has acquired a great deal of knowledge.
Tulsiram also noted that the app is quite easy to follow and accessible, adding that learning from the modules could be done both online and offline.
“The HerVenture app is free so it was very easy for me to sign up…with the modules you’re able to test yourself so that you could know if you are able to move forward or if you need to go back to this module… the app allows you to view the modules whether you’re online or offline.”
Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud, who spoke at the launch, disclosed that the app will soon be utilised by the 10,000 women of the Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN) programme.
Persaud also announced that under WIIN, a new programme known as WIIN in Business has also started in regions Five and Six and will soon be launched in other regions as well. She opined that the app is a great opportunity for the WIIN programme.
British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller, noted that Guyana is one of the fastest growing countries in the world and as such charged the women to take advantage of the app and to continue to take part in the entrepreneurial sector of the country.
Speaking on behalf of the organisation which founded the app, the London, UK-based Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Leanne Baker, had this so say. “So as a foundation we are committed to eliminating the global gender gap in entrepreneurship and creating a future where women entrepreneurs are worthy.”
The HerVenture app is collaborative initiative between the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, ExxonMobil Foundation which funds it, ActionINVEST Caribbean Inc (ACI), and their new partner MMG/GTT.
MMG/GTT has been partnering with many local businesses to make customers’ payments easier. In May it launched the cashless toll system at the Demerara Harbour Bridge and also the Shell Service stations where cashless payments can now be made.
The HerVenture app can be downloaded from Google Pay Store and Apple Store.
