Representatives from several local banks made themselves available Tuesday evening, sharing vital information with small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs during the final session in the third series of the Pineridge Small Business Empowerment Workshop.
Speaking with the group gathered at Calvary Temple Youth Chapel, organizer of the workshop, Pineridge MP, Kwasi Thompson asked the attendees to remember the definition of empowerment.
“Empowerment … to equip, to supply with an ability or to enable,” he shared.
Noting that this was the final meeting in the third series, Thompson recounted the topics covered in series one and two.
“In the first workshop that we put on which was held last year, we focused on marketing, on accounting skills and on legal tips for small business owners who resided in the Pineridge area, but also all those small business owners who live in Grand Bahama.
“The second small business workshop,” he said, “focused on leadership skills and we were able to partnership with St. Bonaventure University out of New York, sharing leadership skills, as well as customer service skills for tomorrow’s businesses.”
The third workshop, he added, which was held during this month, October, “the first night we were able to hear from Mrs. Barrett, who spoke about accounting principles; the second night we heard from Charles Pratt and you also heard from Mr. Anderson, from the Ministry of Finance.”
Thompson noted that Pratt spoke about the benefits, programs and projects that the GB Port Authority has that can benefit small businesses.
Anderson, he said, was able to talk about the Jump Start Program the government is offering to assist small businesses.
