Above: Guyana President Donald Ramotar (UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Guyana has launched a project targeting small and micro-enterprise development.
The project offers loans that require interest rates below six percent, offering a maximum of just under $1,500 dollars.
Guyana President Donald Ramotar helped launch the new initiative, which is called the Micro and Small Enterprise Development and Building Alternative Livelihood For Vulnerable Groups.
It’s a joint effort between the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and the Inter-American Development Bank called “Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) Development and Building Alternative Livelihood for Vulnerable Groups.”
Among the sectors that will be targeted include eco-tourism, fruit and vegetable farming, aquaculture and sustainable forestry, among others.
The Small Business Bureau within the Ministry will be executing what will be a project totaling $10 million USD, supported by funding from the Guyana-Norway forest carbon partnership agreement.
Around $5 million will be released during the first two years of the programme. Guyana’s government said as many as 2,200 jobs could be sustained through the initiative.