By Sharon Austin
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (BGIS) — Government remains committed to ensuring the necessary mechanisms are in place to facilitate the ease of doing business in Barbados.
Minister of state in foreign trade and business, Sandra Husbands, stressed this commitment as she delivered the feature address during the opening ceremony for the four-day training: Creating Innovative Thinkers in Business, at the Centre for Hybrid Studies, Spirit Bond, Wharf Road, St Michael.
Husbands highlighted the coming of the Electronic Single Window as one such key initiative, as it would provide a single access point between the trading community and approximately 28 government agencies.
“One of the bugbears for small business people is the number of hoops they have to jump through just to get anything done. They do not have the time; they do not have the resources. So many small business people have been discouraged from continuing the journey in entrepreneurship because the landscape has become too difficult, too complicated; it takes too long to respond ….” the minister continued: “What we want to be able to do is allow you to focus more of your time and your energy on taking your innovative ideas forward, than spending time in long lines waiting, […]. What we’re doing is seeking to change the systems and processes of government to make it easy for you, not just to innovate, but to…get your innovation to market.”
Husbands told her young audience that the ministry of energy and business had been tasked with the responsibility of developing and supporting a new generation of entrepreneurs in Barbados who would bring “cutting-edge solutions and novel ideas” to business. In addition, she stated, the work of the Ministry would allow the young people to take those ideas and convert them into serious economic activity to help Barbados grow.
“Our ministry has been working around the clock […]. In an effort…to respond to the unexpected costs associated with helping our business community and families to survive during the onslaught of COVID-19, [government] … diverted resources that were assigned for certain types of projects and reassigned them to the more urgent matters….
“We are ready now to re-engage on a number of levels to be able to start…creating opportunities for empowerment, but more importantly, greater inclusivity of the ordinary everyday Barbadian, including our youth,” the minister stated.
During her address, she underscored the importance of financial literacy, which she defined as the ability to manage resources and generate income. She pointed out that if persons were not financially literate, they could make mistakes that could act as obstacles to succeeding in business.
Husbands stressed the importance of catering to the young creative minds in society, saying they had an important part to play in the development of the country and its economic recovery.
“The environment in which we live at the moment … is different and therefore it is going to call for new thinking, different approaches and innovation, in order for us to find what is a new normal and to ensure that we position Barbados and families for prosperity in the new normal.
“It is going to take innovative thinking and creativity so that we can fit into the new world, […]. It matters because our jobs are at risk if we’re not able to help every business turn the corner and introduce new businesses into our economic landscape that can generate the prosperity that we need,” Husbands told the gathering.
The four-day training programme ends Thursday, September 15.
