[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will be hosting consultations with two key groups during its Annual Board of Governors’ meetings in Georgetown, Guyana.
A Stakeholders’ Network consultation will be hosted at the Princess Hotel from Monday, May 26 to Wednesday, May 28, followed by the MSME consultations on Thursday, May 29 and Friday, May 30, 2014.
The sessions will be hosted by the CDB’s Caribbean Technological Consultancy Services (CTCS).
Sixteen representatives from key CTCS Cooperating Institutions (CIs) from across the Caribbean will join fifteen counterpart CI representatives from Guyana to exchange ideas geared towards fostering stronger linkages.
The participating countries are Antigua & Barbuda, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago.
“The consultations are expected to contribute to enhancing the operations of the CTCS Network, as part of efforts aimed at ensuring that the programme remains relevant to the needs of MSMEs while taking into account CDB’s Special Development Fund and Gender Equality Policy and Strategy requirements,” said Kenneth Harvey, CTCS Coordinator.
Over the three days of the Stakeholders’ Consultations participants will engage in discussions and exchange of experiences and ideas in such areas as:
– Integration of gender equality in all CTCS Network activities
– Establishment of a standardised Monitoring and Evaluation mechanism for effectively benchmarking and monitoring CTCS interventions
– Increased participation and input by Local Cooperating Institutions (LCIs) in the design, preparation and oversight of proposed national CTCS activities and requests for direct Technical Assistance by MSMEs
– Identification and development of a more diverse network of available resource institutions, private enterprises and resource persons in BMCs to support the exchange of technical and business knowhow within each BMC and across BMCs
– Increased efforts to investigate synergies and possible harmonisation of CTCS Network services with those being delivered within BMCs by other international, regional and local entities operating within the respective BMCs
– Identification of new areas of development within BMCs which will require enhanced and/or new CTCS delivery mechanisms and focus
– Redevelopment of a fully computerised CTCS Network of Resource Persons;
– Introduction of CDB’s EOS.Web library service for hosting and sharing CTCS Publications and lessons to be learnt from CTCS interventions undertaken across the BMCs
– CTCS’ initiatives in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy development
– Exploring approaches and mechanisms for moving towards sustainable national CTCS Networks within each BMC
The MSME consultations will see 30 small and medium sized enterprises in Guyana learning about the experiences of counterparts from other Caribbean countries, as well as CDB support which could strengthen their businesses.
“This is part of CDB’s strategic objective of supporting inclusive growth and sustainable development and its corporate priorities of promoting private sector development leading to enhanced viability of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.”
Guyana’s Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED), one of CTCS’ longest standing members of the Network, will provide on-the-ground support and logistics for mobilising the local CIs for the three-day Stakeholders’ Consultation, as well as two separate groups of fifteen MSMEs, one for each of the two-day MSME consultations, which is aimed at extending the range of effective CTCS coverage in Guyana.
IPED will also organise local site visits as part of the MSME consultations.
The CTCS is a network operated in cooperation with regional and national institutions, laboratories, industrial enterprises and consultants to support the development and expansion of the Region’s MSME sector.
It contributes to the stimulation of entrepreneurship, while at the same time enhancing the competitiveness of the Region’s productive sector through capacity building and skills transfer.
