This was reported yesterday at the GYBT second annual general meeting by Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Yesu Persaud.

"The Trust is running on a shoe string producing excellent results," he told the gathering at the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) head office on South Road, Bourda, Georgetown.

"I am very happy to report that despite the difficult business environment, the political unrest and political aftermath of the 2001 general elections, the Guyana Youth Business Trust had a very good year," Persaud declared.

He said some 46 loans, totalling $4.4M, were given out by the GYBT over the last year compared with 21 loans valued at $3.7M in 2000, an increase of 119 per cent.

The average value of loans was $96,282 per loan while the number of jobs created/sustained was 62, he said.

Persaud said the cost per loan job was $71,435 which he believes is "a very low cost in producing a job".

In terms of results for the year, he said investment income was $1.49M, interest on loans was $801,000 and other income $72,000 with the total income being $2.36M.

Expenditure in managing the Trust was $1.64M resulting in a surplus of $719,000 last year compared with a loss of $1.08M in 2000, he reported.

The Chairman said this surplus is "very encouraging" and is "an indication that the Trust will be moving from strength to strength".

"The intention of GYBT is to help young people with entrepreneurial spirit and ideas to become businessmen and businesswomen, many of whom are likely to succeed to become the 'giants' of the future.

"However, business involves risks and there will also be failures," Persaud said.

He recalled that the GYBT was launched on February 24, 2000 by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, in Guyana in the presence of President Bharrat Jagdeo, ministers of the Government and members of the private and public sectors, Director of the Prince of Wales Trust, Baroness Valerie Amos and Lord Wahid Alli.

The objectives of the Trust are to provide funding to young men and women between the ages of 18-30 years who are unemployed or under-employed and who want to become their own bosses and are willing to take risks.

However, the proposal must be viable and feasible and is then vetted by the Trustees, Persaud pointed out.

He said the Trust's Office space is provided by IPED at no cost and staff at a minimal cost.

Noting that Guyanese are very innovative, he said there are many young entrepreneurs who are full of ideas but the major current constraint is the political instability and security of the nation.

This must be corrected to build a better future for the people of Guyana, he stressed.

The GYBT Credit Programme is a private sector initiative made possible through contributions by a number of companies, IPED and individuals committed to the assistance of young people to develop their skills, attitudes and to access resources.

"From the inception, we strongly believe that the surest means for our young entrepreneurs to gain financial freedom was by taking advantage of opportunities, whether by employment or establishing their own business," Persaud said.

"Today, while employment may still be an excellent opportunity, we at GYBT feel that the most exciting and potentially profitable method to gain financial freedom is through owning and managing your own business," the GYBT annual report stated.

The Trust also advocates that 'mentors' and their young entrepreneurs should operate on a level playing field.

"It is recognised that Business Mentoring is probably the single most important contributor to the success of GYBT (and) although the mentor is expected to be open-minded and allow the young person to determine the content and the outcome of the mentoring process, the relationship will still benefit from some form of structure," the report said.

It noted too that the changing pattern of employment means that more than 30 per cent of young people can expect to be self employed sometime during their lives and managing their own businesses gives many young people a purpose and builds their self esteem, among other things.

Four young entrepreneurs received trophies yesterday for their excellent entrepreneurial skills.

They are Jermin Blair who runs a Barber Shop at No. 8 Village, West Coast Berbice; Kwame Adridge, a photographer living at `D' Field, Sophia, Georgetown; Shalinie Deen, who is involved in selling stationery and printing business cards, letter heads, brochures and calendars for large companies; and Lorrain Abrams (absent from yesterday's meeting) who operates a shop at East Ruimveldt, Georgetown.