Guyanese entrepreneurs have been invited to take advantage of a major opportunity to broaden their base of international business contacts at the XIV International Meeting of Entrepreneurs, scheduled for Rio de Janeiro in November.
Managing Director of EMPRETEC-Guyana Judy Semple-Joseph confirmed earlier this week that an invitation to participate in the international gathering of entrepreneurs had been received from the Division on Investment and Enterprise of UNCTAD/ EMPRETEC—an integrated capacity-building UNCTAD programme. The programme promotes the creation of sustainable support structures to help promising entrepreneurs build innovative and internationally competitive small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as part of a broader initiative to develop dynamic private sectors in developing countries. Since its inception in 1988, EMPRETEC programmes have been initiated in 26 countries, including Guyana, assisting more than 70,000 entrepreneurs through local market-driven business support centres.
The three-day forum, to be held under the theme “Unveiling Sustainable Development: Challenges and Opportunities,” will also facilitate wide-ranging discourse among international entrepreneurs on agri-business sustainability, modern approach in treatment and use of solid waste, forests, care, risks and opportunities and climate change and its impact on the planet. Addi-tionally, marketing experts attending the forum will also discuss possible business promotion opportunities during the 2014 football World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Semple-Joseph has confirmed that the Brazilian small and micro business support organization Servico Brasiliero de Apoio as Micro E Paque-nas Empresas (SEBRAE) has confirmed that it will make available five exhibition spaces for empretocos (businesses affiliated to EMPRETEC) wishing to promote products in line with the environmental theme of the fair. SEBRAE will also facilitate business-to-business meetings between 10 EMPRETOCOS and Brazilian business enterprises, providing interpretation where necessary.
SEBRAE is hosting the UNCTAD/EMPRETEC meeting, which coincides with the staging of the meeting of entrepreneurs.
Semple-Joseph told Stabroek Business that while she is aware of the costs associated with participation in such a venture, she believes that the forum offers an invaluable opportunity for local business enterprises to benefit from the experience of exposure to such a major international gathering of entrepreneurs.
