Business people get training from CKDO

Forty businessmen and women were trained in Leadership and Small business development on Thursday, 19 March, 2009, as part of the capacity building being done in organizations in and around Kingstown.{{more}}

The Central Kingstown Development Organization (CKDO) conducted a one-day workshop at the Vinsave training room at Richmond Hill. The workshop was funded by the Social Investment Fund (SIF) and trained workshop participants in areas such as Leadership and Development and Management of small businesses. The workshop also exposed participants to financial resources available to them for funding of small businesses.

Speaking at the brief opening ceremony, President of the CKDO, Leroy Rock, thanked SIF for funding the activity. He also explained the CKDO’s role in developing organizations. The CKDO, formed six months ago, developed out of a “serious need for a community organization in terms of training individuals,” Rock said. The organization, involved in various projects in Central Kingstown, assists groups in the area in terms of building capacity.

Also speaking at the ceremony, CEO of SIF, Bentley Browne, encouraged participants to put the information gained in the workshop to good use. Browne also related the purpose of the SIF, which aids several groups in St. Vincent and the Grenadines so that they can further develop themselves. Browne further explained that 67 per cent of the $14 million given to SIF by the European Union is used to assist community groups, while 17 per cent is used to assist vulnerable groups, and the remaining for SIF’s administration purposes. Browne further encouraged groups to be well organized in their efforts. “SIF can only help community groups if they are well organized,” he advised.

The workshop is one of four scheduled to take place during the next month. Facilitators included Marlon Stevenson, of the Small Business Association, who made a presentation on Development and Management of Small Businesses; Bobsie Joyette, who did a presentation on Leadership, and representatives of the National Commercial Bank and National Development Fund.(OS)