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Despite turnout, optimism grows for youth biz project

Posted by CaribShout on July 11, 2009 at 11:30am

Nineteen-year-old Anika Shaw fills out forms to join the Young Entrepeneurs Programme during a sensitisation seminar at the St Elizabeth Technical High School on July 3. - Photo by Tashieka Mair WESTERN BUREAU: Despite a low turnout to the launch of the Young Entrepreneurs Programme (YEP) in St Bess, organisers are heartened by the early interest of students who attended sensitisation seminars at the St Elizabeth Technical High School. One of the presenters, Shirley Bartley of the HEART Trust/NTA's Entrepreneurial Unit, said the response was positive as many of the school leavers shared ideas and signed up to join the programme. "I think they are receptive because of the mere fact that they have come out, wanting to know what it's all about, the fact that they were interactive during the session, willing to share some of the dreams they have and really participated in some of the activities to see how to go about looking at these ideas to see if they are viable," she said. Change Agent Bartley said YEP was a timely intervention which offered an outlet to save many young Jamaicans from delinquent behaviour in the midst of the global financial crisis. She urged locals to develop an entrepreneurial spirit and take advantage of voids in the Jamaican economy where foreign companies have folded because of labour costs and other challenges. "This will motivate and stimulate people to be more creative and find other ways of taking our economy out of the slump that it is in," Bartley said. "It will remove the majority of the young people, who are supposed to be our leaders of tomorrow, off the streets and it will give them something worthwhile to do and look forward to be engaged in and so they will feel like they are being meaningful contributors to Jamaica's society." Youths like Anika Shaw, 19, graduate of the Maggotty High School in St Elizabeth, are exactly who YEP is targeting. Shaw, who took part in the seminar, said she was excited about the programme. She said the programme had laid down the framework for starting her own poultry business, an idea which has had a long gestation. Acquiring Loans At last week's seminars, the students were given lectures about entrepreneurship and business feasibility studies, as well as a heads-up on the process of acquiring loans through YEP. YEP, announced by Prime Minister Bruce Golding during the 2009-2010 Budget Debate, is set to be a $200-million fund that would be disbursed through several financial institutions to support youth entrepreneurship. tashieka.mair@gleanerjm.com

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