Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 15th, 2012 (SKNIS): The National Entrepreneurial Development Division (NEDD) will engage existing and potential entrepreneurs in a series of critical meetings to discuss the challenges of operating a business and ways the agency can assist in promoting their success.
The first Community Business Meeting, as it is dubbed, will be held at the Edgar T. Morris Primary School in Tabernacle tomorrow (Thursday, February 16). It begins at 6:00 p.m.
During an appearance on this week’s SKNIS Perspectives, NEDD’s Business Development Officer Phillip Browne revealed that many persons are not aware of the technical assistance that his agency offers small companies.
“So many times … small business people feel like they are out there alone,” he stated. “They don’t even know that the Small Business Development Act of 2009 provides some support and established structures of how they can access that support. This is what we are attempting to do with the series of meetings. We are making sure that small business owners and potential entrepreneurs in the community know that there is help out there.”
Topics to be discussed include the purpose of NEDD, and the assistance it offers in developing a business plan, applying for duty concessions and tax exemptions as well as export incentives.
“We’ll also speak to the issue of financing. How do you go about financing a small business? The intricacies, the difficulties that one can face and what is available in that area,” Mr. Browne stated, noting the importance of funding.
In addition to the presentations by officials from the Ministry of International Trade - which NEDD is a part of - a representative from the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis will highlight the support it gives to small businesses.
Mr. Browne explained that collaboration with partner agencies is an important component of the community meetings. Other institutions that are expected to be contacted for future sessions include Social Security, the St. Kitts Cooperative Credit Union and the Foundation for National Development.
The Business Development Officer invited residents of the area and surrounding communities to attend the session on Thursday. He disclosed that similar meetings will be held in other areas in the near future.
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