A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Presidential Candidate, David Granger has promised that should the Coalition be re-elected at the March 2 polls, his government will embark on a countrywide programme to provide more loans to young people desirous of starting up businesses.
He told Coalition supporters during a rally in Bayroc, Linden yesterday, that since the launch of the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) in 2015, some $155M has been plugged into the initiative. Granger said that many Lindeners have benefitted from the project.
He reported that some 570 loans were granted thus far.
Granger said that a commitment has already been made to Bartica in Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni), and Mabaruma in Region One (Barima/Waini) for the rollout of similar initiatives.
“When I went to Bartica, I promised them a BEN – Bartica Enterprise Network…I went to Mabaruma, I promised them MEN…The Mabaruma Enterprise Network. You have a model that we will extend countrywide, so that young people in every town will be able get a hands up to help them to get into enterprise,” he said.
In December 2018, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan reported that some 417 persons benefited from LEN that year.
The Guyana Chronicle reported on December 16, 2018 that the LEN had been dormant since 2010, but a new Board of Directors was inaugurated in 2014 by the former administration.
Granger, during his Bayroc address, also committed to the establishment of technical institutes in every capital town, to prepare youths for the oil and gas sector.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo commissioned the $130Million Hinterland Green Enterprise Centre in Annai, Region 9. The centre will offer a curriculum in Sustainable Enterprise Leadership and an Enterprise Support Unit. It will also offer a two-year hands-on course in enterprise design and start-up, management, sustainability, and leadership, as well as access to business support services, allowing the students to contribute to the growth of their communities.
