Thirty-eight female entrepreneurs now have an opportunity to improve and enhance their businesses through the Women’s Empowerment Project (WEP) financed by the Government and People of the Republic of China on Taiwan (ROC).
This initiative involves a series of training and business development seminars through the Centre for Enterprise Development (CED) with funding to the tune of $280,000 EC dollars.
Speaking at the grant ceremony held earlier today, The Republic of China on Taiwan’s Ambassador to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, His Excellency Peter Sha- Li Lan commended the female entrepreneurs on their hard work and dedication and pledged Taiwan’s continued support for projects which seek to foster opportunities for the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Also addressing the recipients was Minister of Finance, Hon. Camillo Gonsalves, Minister Gonsalves said it was important to build a culture of entrepreneurship among Vincentians and added that a significant percentage of small businesses are led by women, therefore a project of this nature would have meaningful impact.
The Finance Minister urged the entrepreneurs to remain motivated and pledged that provisions will be made to WEP grant awardees in Cabinet if requests are made regarding concessions at customs for their items.
General Manager of CED Felix Lewis said a project of this nature is welcomed given the challenges of the past two years with Covid19 and the eruption of La Soufriere which has had a devastating impact on small businesses.
This is the second batch of participants under the programme, their training ran from March to July 2022. A third cohort is scheduled to start training soon.
The ceremony took place at the Kingstown Baptist Church.