Wednesday 2nd September 2020 saw the culmination of a five week Youth Business International (YBI) Entrepreneurial Training Programme hosted by the Saint Lucia Youth Business Trust (SLYBT). The community based training programme formed part of a regional project funded by the Caribbean Development Bank for the sole purpose of providing young entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge necessary to create and sustain self – employment opportunities.
Ten entrepreneurs from the community of Micoud successfully completed the training programme and were awarded certificates for this achievement. Ideally themed, “Strengthening the Entrepreneurial Spirit of Caribbean Youth,” the programme exposed participants to the critical areas of Business Idea Generation, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Resource Management, Brand Development, Financial Management and Strategic Management. YBI trained facilitators Mr. Donovan Williams and Ms. Agnella Joseph were able to systematically take participants from the initial stage of defining themselves as entrepreneurs, examining some of the characteristics that they possess and understanding how these can be used to their advantage within their businesses, to providing more structure to business ideas and further, to fleshing out business models.
Participants completed a total of 60 contact hours from August 3rd 2020 to September 2nd 2020 which comprised of physical content delivery as well as field testing and market surveys. By all accounts, this edition of the training was a success! Trainees conveyed how beneficial the information received has been as well as expressed their gratitude for the training opportunity. Kaitlyn Charlery, a participant who attended virtually cited that “every expectation of the training was met as sessions covered all the necessary information which may have been overlooked by anyone interested in starting up a business” and recorded that the only drawback was not being physically present.