The Government of Dominica through the Ministry of Commerce, Enterprise And Small Business Development continues to invest in the advancement of the small business sector by grant funding to entrepreneurs. This week, the most recent beneficiaries are from the Mahaut constituency.
On Thursday, the Hon. Member of Parliament for the Mahaut constituency, Rayburn Blackmoore presented a cheque of $250,000 to Chairperson of the Campbell/Despor Village Council to assist thirty-seven entrepreneurs of Campbell.
“Promise me that the monies will be used for the intended purposes because if you fail to do so you will be not only failing yourself but you will be failing your entire community and the country by extension,” Hon Blackmoore implored the recipients. “A country can only do well when its people and its communities are doing well.”
Grant funding is open to a wide range of small businesses. One recipient, a nail technician, expressed her thanks for the opportunity to start her own business.
“In 2015, I was privileged to conduct an eight-week nail course with 10 young ladies from Campbell who learned how to do manicure, pedicure, acrylic application and how to care for your hands and feet professionally… I would like to thank Hon. Rayburn Blackmoore and the Government of Dominica for giving us the residents of Campbell the opportunity to operate small businesses.”
Another recipient, Auxentius Maximea, talked about how he would use the funds to grow his farming business. Maximea also echoed the admonishments of the Hon. MP to the recipients to be wise with the financial aid.
“I want to sound an alarm to us, village of Campbell. I want to join Mr. Blackmoore in exhorting us that when you receive such a gift do not allow it to just dwindle away from your hand. It quickly goes away if you play with it too much.”
The Ministry of Commerce has been assisting young entrepreneurs across the country to effectively manage monetary assistance from Government. Last week, the ministry concluded its twelfth in a series of small business training sessions.