Private sector told plan for the future

Persons addressing the launching of the Private Sector Development Programme have called on small business owners and others in the private sector to plan for a future economy.

The theme of the speakers at Monday’s launching at the Kingstown Methodist Church Hall was for participants to achieve growth in order to become more competitive.{{more}}

President of the Chamber of Commerce Martin Bollers (below) called on the participants to have vision, and work towards their goals.

He said that there are people with lots of ideas, but who are either unaware of how, or are not willing to make their dreams a reality. He said that the incentives being offered by the programme would encourage willing businesses to move in the right direction.



New Zealand born Consultant Ian Ivey encouraged participants to mine the resources that can be found here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in order to come up with new ideas for businesses or as a way to improve on what they are currently engaged in.

He noted that the country’s rich culture and the people themselves can be considered a great resource, and that business people should find ways in which to harness them for future development of the country.

Meanwhile, Minister of Telecommunications, Science, Technology and Industry, Dr. Jerrol Thompson said that a scientific and technical approach is “the way to go”. He said businesses need to get up to date with technological and scientific ideas in order to be more competitive in a changing world.

He also said that persons needed to get involved in businesses of a technological nature, as there are emerging markets for that type of commerce.

In a similar vein as the Minister of Telecommunications, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves called on business persons and their employees to become more educated in order to deal with the changing economy. He called on businesses to adopt a modern, competitive post-colonial economy, where education is at its centre.