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.