The Guyana Manufacturers’ Association has been identified as the lead partner in a three-year United Nations Development Programme/Private Sector Initiative valued at US$1.5M
The initiative known by the name EMPRETEC, the Spanish acronym for ‘entrepreneurship through technological application’, is meant to provide specialist training for approximately 250 entrepreneurs in small and medium scale enterprises, President of the GMA, Ramesh Dookhoo said.
In his address at the GMA Annual Presentation Awards dinner last Friday at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel, Dookhoo said the objective of the initiative is to create an entrepreneurial class of business persons with the capacity to generate bankable projects, to develop export skills, to enhance joint venture projects with foreign partners and to expand existing industrial capacities through technology transfer arrangements.
It is also aimed at improving the development prospects and outlook for poverty reduction by job creation among special interest groups such as women and youths; and developing local expertise in the behavioural sciences among trainers and consultants to provide professional guidance and expertise to entrepreneurs in business development.
Dookoo said the project will cater for 250 entrepreneurs and managers of small and medium enterprises (SME) with growth or export-expansion potential and to some local trainers; consultancy services assistance to some 150 SMEs; assistance to about 10 smaller companies to expand exports; and the introduction of 10 smaller companies to profitable and sustainable exporting.
It is expected that by the end of the three years, the project - which will target men and women, indigenous entrepreneurs, youth, the unemployed, school leavers with ability and private and public sector employees wishing to start their own businesses - will contribute to the launching of 100 business projects; the creation of 400 jobs and the expansion of non-traditional exports.
Dookhoo said the GMA felt honoured to have been chosen to lead the human resource development project on behalf of the local private sector for which measurable targets have been identified to judge its success.
He said the Association believes that the EMPRETEC project could provide the sort of catalytic action between small and medium scale enterprises in jump-starting the productive sector into higher levels of productivity and international competitiveness.
One of the steps in facilitating the project will be the GMA providing office space for the Small Business Association President, Patrick Zephyr at its Sophia Exhibition Complex Office so that synergies can be generated and potential members of his association can be major beneficiaries of the EMPRETEC project.
Meanwhile, Dookhoo reported that the Caribbean Programme for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC) which is being funded by the Canadian International Development Agency has to date provided technical assistance to 106 companies of which only 31 are GMA members.
The project has assisted 29 companies in agro-processing through seafood and poultry projects. In the tourism sector in collaboration with the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana 69 persons from both the public and private sectors have been trained in key techniques related to tourism planning and development.
In the manufacturing sector, three industries - jewellery, garments and technical vocational training - received assistance in various aspects of engineering.
The project has also provided assistance for institutional strengthening to the Government Technical Institute through the provision of tools, equipment and shortly, computers.
The Forest Products Association has also benefitted. (Miranda La Rose)