The Guyana Small Business Association(GSBA) in a new outreach programme plans to make special representation for small business owners with disabilities.
According to a GSBA press release, this new programme was outlined by members of the recently installed executive committee earlier this month.
It was noted that disabled persons are often left out of the mainstream of business activities due to no fault of their own. Leon Walcott has been appointed as the public relations consultant to create awareness of the issue.
A brochure on the subject will be published shortly, supplemented by monthly newsletters, radio and television broadcasts and the production of educational material.
Recently the GSBA attended a Caribbean Small Busi-ness Association Conference, in Barbados where a Memo-randum of Understanding was signed to form a Caribbean Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.
One of the issues discussed at the conference was the lack of technical and entrepreneurial knowledge by some small business owners in most Caribbean States.
To better serve small businesspersons, the GSBA Secretariat is staffed with a full-time administrative assistant and a part-time secretary to the Board.
Other plans include increased networking with small business organisations throughout the world, establishing a small business classification framework and a small and micro-enterprise database.
As a priority, the association is currently examining the impact of the various trade and tariff agreements on the operations of small and micro-enterprises. The GSBA is looking for trade and co-operation in fruit processing, shoe making and repairs, handicraft, air conditioning and refrigeration repairs, furniture manufacturing, welding, spray painting and bodywork, baking and pastry-making as well as special events planning.