Minister of Youth Development and National Service, the Honourable Foster Cummings, met with Chairman of Youth Business Trinidad and Tobago (YBTT), Dale Laughlin, to discuss a collaboration with the Ministry to support the micro-enterprise sector.
Minister Cummings acknowledged the contribution of YBTT to the development of Youth Entrepreneurship and expressed his support of their youth development initiatives. The Ministry also thanked them for their continued collaboration with the Ministry’s Enterprise Development Division (EDD) and National Entrepreneurship Development Company (NEDCO); both of which cater to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Trinidad and Tobago.
YBTT, a part of three global networks; the Global Entrepreneurship Network, the Shell LiveWIRE network, and Youth Business International (YBI), is focused on “empowering young entrepreneurs to build profitable and sustainable businesses.”
Minister Cummings shared with YBTT, programmes at the Ministry geared towards entrepreneurship opportunities for the young people of Trinidad and Tobago; briefly highlighting the development of a Youth Agricultural Homestead Programme which caters specifically to agro-entrepreneurship.
Permanent Secretary, Farook Hosein, Acting Director of Youth Affairs, Sean Ramrattan, EDD’s Sector Specialist, Makesi Alexander and NEDCO’s Chief Entrepreneurship Development Officer, Karen Carabello, were part of the Ministry’s team at the virtual meeting, while General Manager, Shedron Collins, also represented the YBTT.
YBTT informed the meeting that the organization recently celebrated two (2) decades in operation, and concluded training for forty SMEs which they will continue to support. They indicated their intention for further collaboration in areas of a national quality policy, digital technology training, as well as introducing cooperative philosophy into their programmes for youth.
The Ministry of Youth Development and National Service remains committed to working with key stakeholders, such as YBTT, that make significant contributions to the development of youth across Trinidad and Tobago.
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