Essequibo women embark on business development training

Feb 04, 2020 News

More than 40 women from the Essequibo Coast have commenced a business development training exercise organised by We Lead Caribbean and The NICO Consulting Inc.

More than forty women from the Essequibo Coast have commenced a business development training exercise

The two-month programme is designed to address the needs of female entrepreneurs in various product development areas including business planning, strategic management, marketing, communications and logistics.
We Lead Caribbean Chief Executive Officer, Abbigale Loncke, said the workshops being held at the Oasis Hotel on the Essequibo Coast, provides much needed training for women entrepreneurs on a more individualized basis.
She said that the workshop is a natural follow on from the three annual successful empowering women’s conferences, which attracted participation from across Guyana.
“Coming from Essequibo, I am always looking at opportunities to give back to the community that was my home for much of my formative years, especially to empower women and youth.
“I know how important it is to have an organization that supports you and advocates for your development.
“We Lead Caribbean is very proud of this initiative and we are very happy for the support of ExxonMobil, The NICO Consulting Inc. and the Essequibo Chamber of Commerce and Industry as we pool our efforts on this initiative.“
Loncke noted that the thirst for knowledge was indeed apparent as the programme, initially organised as a training programme for women, opened its doors to involve a few male participants as well.
For the duration of the training, interaction and mentorship opportunities will take centre stage during the various presentations, classroom type sessions and practical assignments.
However, in a twist that has been welcomed enthusiastically by the participants, the programme will also offer the opportunity for the participants to make a business pitch to a panel for a chance to win grant funding to advance their business.
This novel aspect of the training programme was instituted not only to assess whether the knowledge imparted during the various sessions were indeed absorbed, but also to provide a means for their implementation on an actual business endeavour.
Further, with the support of its partners, the workshop will offer training and mentorship opportunities to these participants at no cost to them, including assessments of their products and their competition and how to pitch business ideas.
The project is also supported by The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, the Georgetown Oilfield Partners.
“This worthy training goes to the heart of one of the pillars of ExxonMobil’s community partnership programme – fostering women’s economic empowerment,” said Deedra Moe, senior director of public and government affairs at ExxonMobil Guyana.
“As research shows, when women are empowered, so are their children and their communities.”
Part of the driving force behind the effort, Michelle A. Nicholas, CEO of The NICO Consulting Inc., said she was enthusiastic about the opportunity to fulfill one of her passions – supporting and giving back to women in Guyana.
“This is truly the type of effort with which I identify; a chance to give of my knowledge and training to better the efforts of women in Guyana,” Nicholas said.
“This training programme presents a rounded and robust curriculum that will definitely impact positively on the participants’ ability to manage their business endeavours, successfully.”