Global Entrepreneurship Week A Good Opportunity For Young Business People – Hylton

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, says Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) offers young entrepreneurs the perfect opportunity to improve their skills, and develop strategies to start new businesses or expand on existing ones.

“I think it is very important, particularly for the young entrepreneur or someone who’s starting out, or who has a business idea or innovation,” he told JIS News following the official launch at the ATL Automotive Centre in Kingston on October 30.

The week of observance, being organised by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), will run from November 16 to 21under the theme: ‘Going for G.R.O.W.T.H’.

GEW is recognised as the world’s largest celebration of innovators and job creators, who launch start-ups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare.

Minister Hylton said that persons will benefit from the advice and expertise of established business people.

“They get to engage in conversations with persons, putting their ideas on the table and getting responses.  It’s a good platform, a rich opportunity for young entrepreneurs to come out and get a true understanding of what the environment is from other people’s perspective and an opportunity to network,” he noted.

Minister Hylton noted that the country’s ranking among the top ten most improved economies worldwide in the 2016 Doing Business Report strongly suggests that Jamaica is in a good place to encourage entrepreneurship.

“Our focus and aim is to continue the reform effort to ensure that businesses continue to enjoy an increasingly friendly and supportive environment,” he told JIS News.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the JBDC, Harold Davies, in underscoring the Minister’s statements, said that entrepreneurs are the engine of growth, and it is therefore critical that they get “every assistance” to succeed.

“If it is that the economy is to be growing on the backs of entrepreneurs, you need the skills and the tools. So, during the week, we’ll have leadership conferences and seminars on critical things that entrepreneurs need to understand. We’ll also have a seminar looking at the (business) environment and its conduciveness for entrepreneurship and growth,” he informed.

Mr. Davies said coaching sessions will also form a critical part of the week-long series of activities, which will be held in Kingston, Mandeville, Ocho Rios, Savanna-la-Mar and Montego Bay.