Soufriere Women and Youth Benefit from Business Planning Model and Creation Workshop
By Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Women and youth from Soufriere recently benefited from a “Business Planning Model and Creation Workshop” aimed at guiding them through the necessary steps in producing short but comprehensive business plans.
The two full days of training was held at the Innovation and Career Development Centre in New Development, Soufriere, from Thursday, November 24 to Friday, November 25, 2022. The initiative was a joint collaboration involving the Taiwanese Embassy, Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM), and the Ministry of Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs’ Small Business Development Centre (SBDC).
During the workshop, the 25 participants were able to convert their creative ideas or local wisdom into feasible business plans so that they can start new enterprises or upgrade current operations. They started by identifying the problems, and finding the possible solutions with a systematic tool – the lean canvas. They also learned to do financial projections according to marketing strategies made by themselves in the classes.
His Excellency Peter Chia-yen Chen, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, joined Hon. Emma Hippolyte, Minister for Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs, at the opening ceremony on Thursday, November 24.
Ambassador Chen encouraged the participants to see the journey through to the end. He also thanked Hon. Hippolyte for inspiring the idea for the workshop, noting that she has a deep interest in creating opportunities for not only Soufrierians, but all Saint Lucians.
“This training session was proposed by Hon. Minister Emma Hippolyte, as she wishes to bring in more opportunities to people in Soufriere,” he said. “Her ideas and thoughts are extended to all citizens locally. This shows how Hon. Minister cares about the local community, and she does walk her talk.”
Ambassador Chen added that Taiwan will continue to support all Saint Lucians.
“The Government of Taiwan will never forget to bring opportunities to all Saint Lucians as a whole. We do not pour resources only in the North, but we also take care of people in the South. We value the relationship with our closest diplomatic allies like Saint Lucia, and believe that through initiatives like these, we get to demonstrate just how deep our bonds of friendship are.”
Hon. Hippolyte said the workshop was the first of many that will be held across Saint Lucia to enhance the human resource capacity of Saint Lucians.
“This collaboration between the Ministry of Commerce and the Taiwan Technical Mission in Saint Lucia is a timely initiative, as it aims to guide participants through the necessary steps required to produce a short but comprehensive business plan for use of the business planning model. The benefits of possessing a business plan for your business are endless, as they bring clarity to the decision-making process regarding key aspects of your business, such as start-up expenses, access to finance, capital investment, securing resources, and so on.”
She added that: “The Government of Saint Lucia recognizes and acknowledges the importance of empowerment of women, youth and entrepreneurs towards the advancement of the business growth and economic independence. Hence it is imperative that we ensure that initiatives such as these are realized in order to capitalize on boosting economic activities.”
In order to improve the training’s effectiveness and sufficiency, the TTM hired Jennès Programme’s vocational skills training graduates as teaching assistants on the digital literacy aspect of the workshop. The graduates were able to show the participants how to use Microsoft Excel and other troubleshooting related to computer applications.
