Thirty-eight female entrepreneurs have received assistance from the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan to help improve and enhance their businesses through the Women’s Empowerment Project (WEP).

AVANELL DASILVA of Ambrosia Foods, the recipient of one of the grants under the Women’s Empowerment Project.

This initiative involves a series of training and business development seminars undertaken through the Centre for Enterprise Development (CED) with funding to the tune of EC$280,000.

Speaking at the grant ceremony last Thursday, September 15, Taiwan’s ambassador to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Peter Sha- Li Lan commended the female entrepreneurs on their hard work and dedication and pledged his country’s ºcontinued support for projects which seek to foster opportunities for the people of SVG, a release from the Agency for Public Information (API) states.

Peter Sha- Li Lan, Taiwan’s ambassador to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG

Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves, also speaking at the ceremony at the Kingstown Baptist Church said it was important to build a culture of entrepreneurship among Vincentians, noting that a significant percentage of small businesses are led by women, therefore a project of this nature would have meaningful impact.

Camillo Gonsalves, Minister of Finance

The Finance Minister urged the women to remain motivated and pledged that provision will be made to WEP grant awardees in cabinet if requested regarding concessions at the customs department for items they may need to import.

General Manager of the Centre for Enterprise Development, Felix Lewis said a project of this nature is welcomed given the challenges of the past two years with COVID-19 and the eruption of La Soufriere which has had a devastating impact on small businesses.

Felix Lewis, General Manager of CED.

This is the second batch of participants under the programme, who were trained during the period March to July 2022. A third cohort is scheduled to start training soon.