Freetown Businesswomen Receive Grant and Training from Taiwanese Mission
Twenty-five women entrepreneurs in Belize City are receiving training through the Taiwanese Mission on how to improve and grow their small businesses. These participants are members of the Freetown Women’s Group who decided to join the program being offered on entrepreneurship. Earlier today, a brief ceremony was held at the House of Culture where the participants were also awarded with grants to expand their businesses. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Camille Sabido
Camille Sabido, Small Business Owner
“I’m a mother of three, the smallest with autism and it’s hard being a work mom and a home mom, so having my own business will help me to take more care of him and to maintain my family.”
This morning, a cohort of women, all constituents of Freetown, received financial and technical support for their respective small businesses. The assistance comes from the Taiwanese Mission as the project it is spearheading is winding down.
Francis Fonseca
Francis Fonseca, Area Representative, Freetown
“For the past two years, the Taiwan Embassy in Belize has been engaged in a big project that they call the Women Empowerment Project across the country. So they’ve been visiting communities, especially rural communities across the country, you know, and so our women’s group in Freetown learned about the project and we submitted two proposals for inclusion in that project and so I am very happy that today one has already been concluded. Today, we launched the second phase of that project. Again, it’s all about empowering women businesses, small businesses in Freetown. These women will be trained, I think over the next two weeks or so, in specific areas, particularly dealing with marketing, the use of social media [and] promoting their businesses.”
Camille Sabido owns a small clothing store and her goal, upon completing the training, is to expand her business into other municipalities across the country.
Camille Sabido
“I decided to sign up for this training to expand my business, so I can have businesses in different districts in Belize.”
Reporter
“And what are you hoping to gain from it?”
Camille Sabido
“I’m hoping to gain more knowledge and the training was also to teach us business strategies and how to carry out our business financially.”
Another of the participants is Donatila Chun. She has been involved with making and selling cultural arts for the past two decades.
Donatila Chun
Donatila Chun, Small Business Owner
“I like business, right. I think from way back I chose to be in the field of business, so that’s what I go for.”
Reporter
“And what are you hoping that the training will teach you?”
Donatila Chun
“I’ve taken several trainings already so it will benefit me more in the years to come.”
To further assist them with the knowledge they are taking away from the workshop, the participants will also be receiving grants which they will invest in their businesses.
Francis Fonseca
“Of course, an important component of the project is that they will also be receiving small grants so that they can then put into use what they have learned over the two-week period and use those small grants to expand and grow their businesses. So it’s a collaborative effort between our Freetown women’s group, the Taiwan Embassy, the technical mission in Belize, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We all came together and I am very happy that we’re able to, I think it’s about twenty-five women in Freetown that will benefit from this specific project.”
Isani Cayetano for News Five.
