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SBDC Program: Highlights

Sod Turning for BEI2

Belize’s BELTRAIDE has participated in several of the Organization’s programs to support small business development and competitiveness in the region. As part of the OAS program “Establishment of SBDCs in the Caribbean”, the country successfully adapted and implemented the U. S. Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) model, with the technical support of the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), and in partnership with the Permanent Mission of the U.S. to the OAS. The success of the SBDC Belize and the greater demand for its services led to the conceptualization of the BEI2, as an enterprise and innovation hub - a one stop shop for SMEs-- that would provide the nucleus for business growth and development in the country. The actualization of this concept would culminate in the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the Belize Enterprise and Innovation Institute (BEI2) at the University of Belize Faculty of Management and Social Sciences Campus on 17th September 2015. The new facility is anticipated to house Beltraide’s two technical units SBDC Belize and Export Belize, as well as small business incubators and a SME resource center.

Making Saint Lucia Enterprising

On September 29^th 2015 the Saint Lucia Ministry of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs officially launched its Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) Website – Make Saint Lucia Enterprising at 10:00 a.m. at the University of the West Indies Open Campus. The launch was part of the Ministry’s Business Month with the theme, “Economic Growth through Business Support – with a focus on Youth and Women.” The SBDC Website forms part of the Ministry’s efforts at promote sustainable entrepreneurial growth and development in Saint Lucia and will serve as a one-stop virtual platform providing entrepreneurs with the tools needed for starting a business and expanding an existing enterprise.