PRESS RELEASE – THE St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture hosted its second SME “Finance Buzz” last Wednesday at NSDC in Vieux Fort as its seeks to better understand the needs of SMEs in the field of finance.
The event was held by the Chamber in conjunction with the German Savings Bank Foundation and the Steering Committee of the Southern Business Association.
“Finance Buzz” is a purpose-built event, designed to specifically help the Chamber better understand and to inform the future project activities of the Project, “Financial Inclusion of SMEs”.
Johannes Steger, Project Assistant, and Dr.Juergen Engel, Project Manager of the “Financial Inclusion of SMEs” Project Team delivered short addresses on Key Performance Indicators — Keys for Success. The seminar highlighted key performance indicators which SMEs can and should utilize to assess the financial performance of their businesses and which can provide valuable information to them.
All participants indicated they were pleased with the “Finance Buzz”, particularly the group work, which helped them articulate their needs and possible actions which the project can take to help alleviate their challenges and the valuable information shared in the Key Performance Indicators presentation.
The Steering Committee for the Southern Business Association thanked the Chamber for its support and for partnering with them and encouraged more SMEs and businesses in the south to take advantage of the opportunities the project would be providing.
The Chamber is now preparing to submit and discuss with the Project Team proposed project activities for next year.