Close to $800,000 have been injected in the communities of Trafalgar and Wotten Waven for small business development.
These communities commonly known as Dominica’s tourism hub are famous for their hot springs and water falls.
At a town hall meeting organized by Cabinet in Trafalgar, in February, the Hon Prime Minister, Dr Roosevelt Skerrit had made a commitment to assist small business owners, specifically vendors, in these communities.
While addressing a meeting at the Trafalgar resource centre on Thursday July 20th, the Hon Prime Minister said enhancing small businesses in the Roseau Valley will significantly impact Dominica’s tourism sector.
In this year’s budget government will increase the Ministry of Tourism’s budget from eight million dollars to 12 million dollars in an effort to market Dominica’s tourism product.
The Hon Prime Minister says government continues to create opportunities for entrepreneurs.
“Our responsibility as representatives of the people is to create the opportunities, to create the avenues to cause us to be productive people, to create jobs and a better way of life for ourselves and our families. It is left to you to decide how you are going to make use of the resources. Are you going to invest in your business to enhance it to make more money and to sustain your job or are you going to buy the flat screen by Courts you have been waiting to buy for a long time? I am saying to you as small as the investment may be, it can make a huge difference in whether [or not] you have a tomorrow.”
The cheque was made available to the Trafalgar village Council to assist seventy entrepreneurs in Trafalgar.
The Hon Member of Parliament for the Roseau Valley Constituency, Dr John Colin Mc Intyre, believes this is a major economic boost for the Roseau valley. Hon Mc Intyre says Government continues to take small business development in Dominica seriously.
“I want to urge you tonight that those of you we are going to give assistance …. I want you to treat [your small business] seriously.”
The Ministry of Commerce, Enterprise and Small Business Development will be providing business management training for these individuals.
On Wednesday, forty-two entrepreneurs from Laudat received financial assistance from Government.