CED opens office in Georgetown

The last of five outreach offices developed by the Centre for Enterprise Development (CED) opened its doors in Georgetown this week.{{more}}

Found in the Georgetown Learning Resource Centre, the Organization of American States sponsored facility is geared towards bringing business development services to rural communities.

Manager of the Center for Enterprise Development, Felix Lewis, speaking at the opening ceremony, thanked the institutions who worked along with the OAS in making the office a reality.

These include the Ministry of Education (Adult Education Division), The Ministries of National Mobilization and Social Development, Rural Transformation, and the Agricultural extension division.

Lewis said that the initiative seeks to empower communities by ensuring that individuals have the means to generate income and not depend on employment being provided to them.

“We feel that entrepreneurship is a sure way out of poverty in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”

“This event should be looked at as a beginning of a developing relationship between the CED and this community.”

Lewis also hinted that the idea of a rural business incubator was being looked at and is being discussed.

Representative of the OAS in St. Vincent and the Grenadines Melene Glynn indicated that her organization has been proud to partner with this country’s Government and other agencies in supporting and developing poverty alleviating initiatives, which she said was in keeping with one of the guiding principles of the OAS, as poverty elimination is an essential component in the promotion and consolidation of democracy.

“By providing opportunity for people in rural areas, by helping them to enhance their job skills or acquire new ones, by providing the start up resources that they need to earn a livelihood and by encouraging them to develop a spirit of entrepreneurship, which allows them to successfully apply their skills and resources in income generation activities, the OAS is working to promote development in rural areas and to reduce poverty in our member states.”

Also speaking at the opening ceremony were Minister of Agriculture Montgomery Daniel, Dr. Jerrol Thompson, Minister of Telecommunications, Science and Technology, as well as Saboto Caesar Minister of Housing, who was sitting in for Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonslaves.

The Ministers congratulated the CED and OAS for taking the initiative to bring the facility to the community, and urged individuals to take full advantage of the service.

Also at the ceremony, four members of the Georgetown community were awarded grants by the CED for the development of their small businesses. The awardees were Bevorn Warrick, Keturah Cato, Connie Fraser and Annella Cato-Sealy.

Other outreach offices were previously opened in Chateaubelair,