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Southern business owners attending a forum to form an association to benefit them.
Business owners in the south of the island will soon have a stronger say on matters relating to their businesses and be in a position to make demands for betterment from the powers that be.
That’s when the Southern Business Association is established in Vieux-Fort to cater for the needs of its members.
On Wednesday, a business forum was held in Vieux-Fort to commence the process. It was attended by entrepreneurs of various professions who appeared to be excited about the initiative.
The association, which will work alongside other agencies such as the St. Lucia Business Development Centre (SBDC), the Small Enterprise Development Unit (SEDU) and the Department of Physical Planning, has established a Help Desk aimed at connecting people to resources, collecting information and sharing it, and support the business association.
In his keynote remarks, Egbert Stevens of the SBDC called on participants to support the initiative, adding that it will be of immense benefit to them.
“The organisation is about people. Participate in its activity …You have to make time to come to meetings,” he advised participants.
He added that if they don’t help each other they will go nowhere.
“We need each other to survive in the business environment. You can’t do it alone. It’s a community…,” he said.
Stevens lamented that a number of organisations have failed because of a lack of participation by its members in its activities. He emphasized the importance of networking, adding that it is one of the ways entrepreneurs can learn from each other.
He implored participants to be persistent in their drive for success and not to be daunted by the challenges ahead.
“It’s your business…. Be positive and prepare for changes,” he said.
He called on participants to trust the organisation and be proud of it.
Among some of the other speakers at the forum were Brian Louisy, executive director of the St. Lucia Chambers of Commerce and Ed Harris, a representative of the St. Lucia Manufactures Association, who all called for participants to support the initiative and outlined some of its benefits.
Participants asked pertinent questions about the initiative and expressed their support for it.
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