Training for more women through CLDB’s ‘AccelerateHer’ programme

More women entrepreneurs are set to receive much-needed training this year through the Centre for Local Business Development’s (CLDB) ‘AccelerateHer’ programme that got underway on Friday evening.

The programme, now a usual fixture on the suite of programmes offered by the Centre, helps Guyanese businesswomen build their leadership and business skills. It is meant to further develop- or in other words, accelerate- their personal and business growth.

The programme’s ‘Weekend Bootcamp’ got underway on Friday, after the AccelerateHer 3.0 programme was launched at the centre’s South Road, Bourda office. This bootcamp, the first phase of the programme, allows the participants to learn from peers and mentors, practise their business pitches and build business model canvases.

CLDB Director, Dr. Natasha Gaskin- Peters said there were more than 80 applications this year and as such, the 25 women shortlisted were chosen after an “extremely competitive process.”

She emphasised that the women chosen will benefit from sound mentorship and key skills training be it in the areas of networking, strategy or marketing.

But why a programme focused on women?

According to the CLDB Director, there are several reasons for this focus. First, there are many sectors still male- dominated and the opportunities for women to get involved in those sectors and earn are abundant.

Additionally, she said there is empirical evidence to demonstrate that investing in and empowering women translates to investing in and developing communities and families.

“And in the business realm… here again, we see positive impacts.

“When we invest in women-owned businesses they are investing in their communities and workers,” Dr. Gaskin- Peters said.

So for her, continuing the AccelerateHer programme is a sound investment.

Guyana’s Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud shares the same sentiment.

At Friday’s launch, she highlighted her ministry’s efforts to empower more women through a suite of training programmes, access to financing and other support.

And she backed the centre’s programme, noting that the more opportunities for women to develop themselves, the better.