NIA-CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (August 30, 2011) — Training is available to small entrepreneurs on Nevis and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is willing to facilitate it. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry Mr. Dwight Morton, made that disclosure recently when he delivered remarks at the start of an Industrial Sewing Workshop set to conclude on Friday.

He said training was a priority for the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) and with assistance of the Bank through the Small Enterprise Development Unit (SEDU) of the Ministry of Trade all small business owners who wanted to become more marketable in an ever competitive world could be assisted.

“The CDB is providing funding for this workshop and CDB is available for all small entrepreneurs in Nevis because they haven arrangement whereby you can apply for some technical assistance in the form of training and the training can be on island or overseas.

“In the case of training overseas CDB will pay your airfare, hotel, they will give you a per diem and they will give you the training once you can come forward, make an application [and] we will be willing to facilitate those who are willing to move forward, upgrade themselves and make themselves marketable, in this very competitive environment we have in Nevis and all over the world today because competition is aplenty,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary noted that he was not certain whether the existing programme was widely known among small entrepreneurs on Nevis but urged them to make maximum use of the opportunity.

“I am not quite certain how many persons are fully aware of this programme but it is in place and CDB has quite a lot of money that they can make available through the Ministry to all those who want to be trained…

“Persons just simply need to come to the office the Ministry of Trade at Government Road, indicate their interest in terms of training and we will work along with CDB to make training available to you,” he said.

Meantime, Mr. Morton also spoke to another facility available to the small business owners or those who wished to become one. He said the NIA in collaboration with the Nevis Cooperative Credit Union had set up a loan facility available to small business persons but anyone who accessed the facility would have to repay because it would be in the form of a loan and not a grant.

“I am quite confident, that we will have enough moneys to make available…You can be assured in due course, we will be able to assist all those …small business persons in Nevis who need a little financial assistance not in terms of a grant but a loan which has to be repaid because we work in collaboration with the Nevis Cooperative Credit Union through a scheme where we lend moneys and the whole arrangement is monitored by the Credit Union,” he said.