Culture and Commerce Ministries collaborate to encourage entrepreneurship among women

In an effort to strengthen collaboration in the development of programmes to encourage entrepreneurship among women, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) on Wednesday, November 1, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport/Bureau of Gender Affairs (MCGES/BGA). 

The signing ceremony took place at the Ministry’s Hope Gardens offices.

Under the MoU, both Ministries will seek to collectively address the challenges facing women in the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) sector, such as access to financing, capacity building, training and securing markets.

The MoU will ensure that there is an enabling business environment where both genders have opportunities to advance through entrepreneurial endeavours.  Also, it will create a framework for both Parties to undertake impactful programmes by leveraging their collective resources to advance business development.

The MoU came about as a result of a Cabinet Decision on September 18, 2017, which approved the updated MSME & Entrepreneurial Policy 2017, to be tabled before Parliament as a Green Paper.

The MoU will be effective for three (3) years, and will be renewable on agreement between both Ministries.

Speaking at the signing event, both Ministers Olivia Grange and Karl Samuda welcomed the initiative and gave their commitment to ensuring its success.

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