The Youth Enterprise Development Programme was first mentioned by the Honourable Prime Minister, Dr Kenney Anthony in 2004 and the Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre (CYPCC) was able to secure a grant of £20,000 to start an initiative to provide micro-credit to young St Lucian entrepreneurs.

Marcellus Joseph, General Manager, BELFund

CYPCC has since been collaborating with the James Balgrave Enterprise Development Fund (BELFund) which offers credit for service and trade, retail and distribution, manufacturing, tourism, animal husbandry, agri-business and agro-processing.

BELFund is patterned after the Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative (CYCI) and is funded mainly by the Government of St Lucia and the Youth Enterprise Development component of the Commonwealth Youth programme.

Following our training of trainers' workshop in December 2004 and the orientation programme in February 2005, we commenced the programme in May 2005 with training in personal Development and Achievement Motivation.

One of the main reasons for the establishment of the BELFund is because it was felt that too many young persons were on the block and unemployed. This is against the fact that between 3,000 and 5,000 young people leave school every year and the job market is dwindling.

The Government of St Lucia felt that a micro enterprise initiative would assist those persons to become self employed and probably create employment for others. As far as the private sector is concerned, a lot more needs to be done. I would hope that the private can put up money to be used as grants.

The BELfund is basically one of the few micro enterprise development programmes on the island and has an added advantage because of its business support, management and accounting services.

Additionally, the collateral requirements are very basic because young entrepreneurs can pledge household items and if you don't have that they can produce just one guarantor, which is one way the loan process has been made simpler.

We also have an arrangement where in the event that clients are having difficulty, we can get them back on stream. One example is helping to get certain inputs at a cheaper price.

BELfund works hand-in-hand with the beneficiaries and we have found that it is only when you consult with the youth that you would know what problems they are experiencing.

In terms of the programme reaching more young people, we need to be a lot more visible even if it means a full-time outreach officer. On the regional scene, a lot of young people would eventually lean towards the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) but more has to be done to ensure that the information reaches the communities.

Fabian Isaac, Business Support Officer, BELFund

We at BELFund have the task of supporting young St Lucian’s in operating their own businesses and operating these successfully. The main hurdles facing young people who want to be entrepreneurs are negative feedback from relatives and friends and lack of micro-credit from traditional financial institutions.

Many of the BELFund beneficiaries come to the training programme with a particular project in mind but at the end of the exercise, they change that idea completely and come up with more viable projects to invest in.

Some persons just come into the programme because they have nothing do at home, but at the end of it they realize that it is an opportunity to earn a living by becoming and entrepreneurs.

Here at BELFund, I am mainly responsible for conducting interviews, training, monitoring of businesses and helping the youth to prepare business plans.