Youth Business Trust gets office equipment

Fifty thousand dollars worth of office equipment has been donated to the newly formed St. Vincent and the Grenadines Youth Business Trust (SVGYBT).{{more}}

The office equipment, which included a filing cabinet, desks, executive and waiting chairs and a computer were donated to the Trust on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, during a ceremony at the Chamber of Commerce Conference Room.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of the Trust and Original trustee Kyron Barker expressed gratitude to the Regional Management Office for donating the items to the trust and for the establishment of the Business trust in St. Vincent.

Giving a brief overview of the Trust, Barker stated that it has been established to reduce youth unemployment through offereing loans and ongoing mentorship to young entrepreneurs.

The maximum loans offered will be $25,000 and it will be collateral free. The persons requesting loans must be between the ages of 18 and 35, must have present a sound business plan, and must be unable to raise all necessary finance to start their business.

Barker, however, said that once persons can easily raise financial assistance from commercial banks, the trust will not issue them loans, as they do not wish to be competitors with banking institutions.

Barker added that each entrepreneur will be assigned a mentor who will be their partner, advising them throughout the establishment of their business. The mentors, who will not be paid for their service, will be trained before being paired with the young entrepreneurs.

The ceremony was also attended by supporters of the SVGYBT, Chamber of Commerce officials Shafia London and Angus Steele, and Team Leader of the Regional Management Office Rohan Seebaluck.

The trust, which is expected to be officially launched in March of this year, will also issue loans to two young entrepreneurs at the launch. They are expected to start out with twenty mentors for the mentorship programme.