THE month of September has been dubbed “Business Month” by the Ministry of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs – with the objective of highlighting the functions and services of participating organizations in promoting and fostering business development in St. Lucia.
BOSL says it remains a committed partner in the improvement of the economic landscape of St. Lucia and views increasing the capacity of the Micro Small & Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector as a critical part of this agenda.
The Bank is lending support to two major activities in commemoration of Business Month, the Mini Services and Business Expo, hosted by the Trade Export Promotion Agency (TEPA), and the MSME Finance Symposium hosted by the Small Enterprise Development Unit of the Ministry of Commerce.
The MSME Finance Symposium will focus on providing both MSMEs and aspiring business owners with crucial information on accessing finance and the options and services available. The symposium will expose the small business owners to an experienced panel of lenders and investors in an interactive environment, in addition to a series of key presentations. The Bank will be a key contributor at this Symposium slated for September 21.
The Bank says it recognizes the critical importance of the MSME sector as a driver of the local economy, and as such continues to initiate and support programmes aimed at developing small business. Last year, BOSL collaborated with SEDU for the hosting of a series of Financial Management Workshops geared towards small business owners.
This is an extension of BOSL’s Corporate Social Responsibility Philosophy, to support financial literacy efforts to empower individuals to make sound financial decisions. The Bank extends kudos to the Ministry for bringing its vision to fruition in declaring the month of September as Business Month.
Support of Business Month activities comes ahead of the Bank’s planned contributions in the month of October, designated Financial Information Month (FIM) by the ECCB. This year’s FIM activities take place across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union under the theme “LEAD: Learn Empower Achieve Develop.”