DYS Launches Entrep Hub – a Marketplace for Services by Youth Entrepreneurs
Today, the Department of Youth Services launched an Entrepreneurship Hub as a space for young business owners to operate their business. From cosmetology to food and beverage industry and even printing services – they can all be found in one place. It’s the answer to a youth needs assessment survey that is finally coming to fruition. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
The old terminal building on Magazine Road in Belize City has been retrofitted to become an Entrepreneurship Hub – a marketplace for businesses managed and ran by youth entrepreneurs. It is something that DYS Director Kevin Cadle says gives purpose to the establishment.
Kevin Cadle
Kevin Cadle, Director, Department of Youth Services
“About two years ago, we did a youth needs assessment survey and from that survey, we recognised the need for young people to literally be able to be gainfully employed. And most young persons are saying that they want to become entrepreneurs and they want to own their own businesses. This facility has been here for quite some time. I know that it had a program where they were doing skills training, but it was a minimal amount of young people coming out of these facilities with the type of skills necessary for entrepreneurship. And so we decided to embark on something quite creative and what we did was we enlisted thirteen young persons who already started their business from within their own homes, but would want to be able to expand on their businesses. We have food business, we have cosmetology, we have nails, we have printing. There’s some persons doing printing. A person doing tutorial services; there are tutors and so forth. We have the radio program here; we have the advertisement that they do advertisements and so forth for businesses. We have a podcast that young people could literally come in and do their own podcast and so forth. So it is various different things that we actually have. And the food business, there are two different types. There is one that’s just doing cake decorating and so forth and then the other one is actually doing actual food catering.”
After an interview process, several young entrepreneurs now have a space – at least for one year – to house their services. At a rental cost of fifty dollars a month, they each have their individual spot for their business to prosper.
Kevin Cadle
“Within that one-year it is to get them to build their customer base, get their businesses up and running properly and then we will assist them in finding a location for themselves where they could actually go on and move on with their own businesses and graduate into their own businesses while we bring in a fresh set of young people to do the same thing. What we also want to look at is the agricultural sector for young people; young people in agriculture. And we want to use the space at the back to be able to provide on Saturday’s where young people could bring their produce here and be able to sell their produce during that period of time, similar to what is happening at the market. So we are just opening up a situation for young people which is for young people and by young people in entrepreneurship and business venture.”
Rodwell Ferguson
Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Youth
“As we do the tour, it is impressive and I feel very elated to be a part of this because we have now found a hub to be able to provide to the public and at the same time their small businesses are going to make money. And it is at a minimal cost. Imagine you have to go and rent a space downtown, it will cost you so much. And just the ambiance make you feel like you want to be a part of it.”
The idea is for a similar marketplace in all municipalities.
Rodwell Ferguson
“It already started in other municipalities. Belize is our main hub, but if you go to Independence, if you go to Big Falls you will see a hub there likewise or Orange Walk and wherever you go in the country. So eventually we are going to reach out to the entire country of Belize to provide for our young people.”
Kevin Cadle
“While we launched it here, we’re hoping to do it across the country. Recently in Dangriga, we just went to a new hub that they are actually opening up in Dangriga for some of our young men that we are working with. They have been in training and so they have started up a carwash business; we were there on Friday to deliver the equipment for them so that they could get started. But there are going to be other niches within that particular building that they have. It’s a building that they acquired from the area representative, Honorable Zabaneh and so with that, we are just going to continue to build on their capacity and train them so that more young people could actually own their own business and have the opportunity to grow.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
