Guyanese urged to apply for US entrepreneurial programme

Feb 26, 2018 News

Guyanese entrepreneurs are being invited to apply to partake in the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Professional Fellows Program.
The U.S Embassy in Guyana recently announced that applications are now being accepted at https://ylai.state.gov.
Applicants must have at least two years of experience as entrepreneurs in their own business or social venture.
Entrepreneurs between the ages of 25 and 35 are encouraged to apply by March 4.
Applications are also open to residents and citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, YLAI will this year bring 250 young entrepreneurs from the Caribbean and Latin America to the United States for business and social entrepreneurship training.
The Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) empowers entrepreneurs to strengthen their capacity to launch and advance their entrepreneurial ideas and effectively contribute to social and economic development in their communities.
During the five-week program, the fellows will learn and share their experiences in start-ups, small businesses, non-governmental organizations, and similar entities in cities throughout the United States and in partnership with community groups and American universities.
The participants will further develop their business or social venture plans through an entrepreneurship curriculum and workshops, and by working alongside their American counterparts.
To date, eight young Guyanese entrepreneurs have participated in the YLAI Professional Fellows Program.
Last year, three young Guyanese leaders were accepted into the programme. They are:
Suzanne Hamilton, Founder of Sosh Solutions in Linden, which offers globally recognised professional qualification courses for local entrepreneurs and addresses the unavailability of professional and youth development opportunities in the fields of accounting, business, and finance.
Charles Hutson founded Ecab, a mobile app for calling taxis that allows cab-seekers to electronically hail the closest available cab while allowing drivers to earn more by saving on gasoline and time.
Christine Profitt, founder of The Scrubs Hub, an organisation that provides quality medical garments and personal protective gear for medical professionals across Guyana at an affordable cost. As part of her social responsibility commitment, Christine has committed a percentage of the organisation’s income towards the “I CAN” project for disadvantaged youth, single parents, and other young adults in Agricola.
Among the Guyanese participants in the President Obama’s 2016 YLAI fellows program were:
Dason Anthony, one of the owners of 592Dresses, founded in July of 2015. 592Dresses assists boutiques and local designers to sell, market, and advertise their products through its online marketplace.
Judason Bess, the co-owner and manager of The Farmacy, which focuses on making agriculture and food production more sustainable.
Abbigale Loncke, has spent most of her adult life, helping those in need, she created Community Health Care, an agency that delivers home care needs for the elderly, sick, disabled, and children in the comfort of their homes.
It also trains women who are in need of employment and second chances to take up roles as care-givers.
Shaunda Yarde founded Coconut Grove with her grandmother’s recipe in 2013. She uses fresh local ingredients to make a culturally rooted product, Golden Crunch Coconut Biscuits.

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