Todd: Gov’t for small businesses

Article by Connell Antoinette

EDUCATION HAS BEEN SEEN as an investment priority of both Government and the private sector for several years, says Minister of State Patrick Todd.
Todd, addressing graduands of the Barbados Small Business Association (BSBA) Entrepreneurial Training Programme at Pelican Industrial Park on Wednesday, said that 15.7 per cent of Barbados’ total expenditure had been dedicated to education.
That was seen as an indication of Government’s commitment to education, which, he added, had enabled Barbados to boast of one of the highest educational levels in the world.
The Minister of State in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Empowerment, Innovation, Trade, Industry and Commerce, said graduands of the programme should be congratulated for grasping the opportunity to improve their entrepreneurial skills. He also commended the BSBA and Courts (Barbados) Limited for implementing the project from September 2009 that had so far catered to more than 100 students.
According to Todd, Government was committed to the development of micro and small businesses. As a result, he said, Phase Two of research on this sector had been started by his ministry.
Phase One of the research showed that the 11 275 registered small businesses made up approximately a quarter of the total labour force.
Phase Two, Todd noted, would seek to explore subsectors of small business and assess the impact of trade liberalisation on them.
“Opportunities for improvement will also be considered,” Todd told the graduating class. (FM)