NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (AUGUST 22, 2017) — The Ministry of Finance in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), through the Small Enterprise Development Unit (SEDU), is seeking to establish a small business development centre to boost the small business sector on the island. 

 

Colin Dore, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, told the Department of Information recently, that the move to establish the facility, is in keeping with the NIA’s continued drive to promote and develop the sector, having recognised that small businesses are an engine of growth on Nevis.

 

“The whole idea of a small business development centre, is to assist business persons to take business ideas from the incubation stage all the way up to implementation stage.

 

“So for the 2018 Budget, we are hoping to roll out our small business development centre in line with what the Organization of American States (OAS) has prescribed for the other countries,” he said.

 

The plan also includes expanding SEDU’s activities beyond processing loans. The Unit will be able to provide guidance for small business persons, assist them with preparing business plans and everything else that would help them understand their role and requirements from the outset, all the way to having a successful business.

 

Mr. Dore, said both the ministry and the SEDU team are excited about putting things in place for the establishment of the centre, similar to those existing in other Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) territories, all with the technical assistance of the OAS.

 

Recently, Mr. Dore and Mrs. Catherine Forbes, Small Business Development Officer at SEDU were exposed to international practises and policies related to small business at a forum in the United States of America hosted by the OAS in conjunction with the University of Texas and the Small Business Development Center of the Unites States Government.