Georgetown, Guyana – (November 20, 2017) Nine Guyanese women will be participating in the second Women Innovators Network in the Caribbean Acceleration Programme (WINC AP) for women entrepreneurs. The women were selected from a total of 250 applicants from across the Caribbean. First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger attended the opening session of the eight-month programme, which was hosted at the GeoTech Vision office on Brickdam. In an invited comment, the First Lady said that she was proud of the women and that she is confident that they will capitalise on the opportunity to learn the skills that they need to grow their businesses.
Founder and Managing Director of GeoTech Vision, a company which specialises in innovative spatial technologies and business ICT solutions and accredited World Bank/Infodev AP Facilitator for the Caribbean, Ms. Valrie Grant said that the programme is primarily based on facilitation of peer to peer learning among growth oriented women. It is designed to teach the participants “a more advantageous context leading to improved business performance and investment… These growth-oriented entrepreneurs will learn from each other. They will be co-creating”.
A section of the audience at the opening session of the second Women Innovators Network in the Caribbean Acceleration Programme (WINC AP) for women entrepreneurs.
Ms. Grant said that this entrepreneurship ecosystem approach emerged after it was found that creating an enabling environment for business start-ups was not leading to the creation of high growth firms. As such, the WINC partnered with large firms, service providers, civil society and universities to mentor the women, teaching them how to overcome challenges financing, owning and growing their businesses.
Participant, Ms. Christine Gooding, owner of Market Square, said that she was looking forward to the training and expects to gain a wealth of information that will help her to take her business to the next level. “I’m definitely looking forward to how I can get funding for my business, how I can leverage my business, to gain a bigger market within the country and also ways in which I can work for persons regionally perhaps,” she said. The other eight participants are Ms. Veronica Glen, Ms. Wanda Dillon, Ms. Maxine George, Ms. Cecily Bernard, Ms. Natasha Goodman, Ms. Candace Wickham, Ms. Petal Dodson, and Ms. Claudette Fredericks.
Over the training period, the participants will learn how to advance their ventures using networks, access to financing and linking business with technology. The programme includes business coaching and mentoring as well as personal development sessions. Chargé d’Affaires, Canadian High Commission, Ms. Jan Sheltinga, General Manager-Credit, Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited, Ms. Parbatie Khan, and Owner, ActionCoach Guyana, Ms. Vishnu Doerga also attended the session.
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