Women and Girls’ Summit 2026 underscores opportunities for women entering business

Mar 08, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – In observance of International Women’s Day, a gathering of leaders, entrepreneurs and young women filled the halls of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Wednesday as the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry Guyana hosted the Women and Girls’ Summit 2026 under the theme “Safe, Seen and supported.”

The summit not only served as a platform for discussions on empowerment and leadership, but also featured a small exhibition highlighting programmes and tools aimed at helping women start and expand their own businesses.

Delivering the feature address was Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Vindhya Persaud, who described the gathering as a moment to recognise the strength, resilience and determination of women across generations.

She referred to the summit as a “powerhouse of innovation, leadership and fearless advocacy,” praising the many women who have fought not only for representation but also for opportunities for others to follow.

Highlighting Guyana’s rapid development, Persaud stressed that women must play an equal role in shaping the country’s future. She encouraged young women to pursue careers in both traditional and non-traditional fields, emphasizing that educational success must be accompanied by empowerment and opportunity.

EXPO HIGHLIGHTS TOOLS FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Alongside the presentations and discussions, the summit also featured a number of exhibition booths aimed at equipping women with practical tools to enter the business world.

The Waterfalls, during a visit to the event, observed several initiatives designed to assist young women and aspiring entrepreneurs.

One of the featured resources was an application called Her Venture, which provides business education through a mobile platform.

Speaking with the manager of the programme, Upasna Mudlier, she explained that the app provides accessible training for women who want to start or strengthen their businesses.

“So it’s business education at the palm of your hand. You read at your own pace when you do complete, you do get a certificate of completion. This is actually through the Charire Blair Foundation, and Action Invests Carbon Inc. We are the partners that we promote this app. It is funded by Exxon Mobile, so that’s what makes it all free of charge to everyone. There’s no timeline to this. You read as when you have the time and then you can contact us via our Facebook page to get that certificate,” she said.

Mudlier explained that the app is designed to simplify business knowledge through short, digestible lessons.

“Now, it’s education where we believe strongly and the foundation believe strongly that if you don’t educate yourself, then you cannot be able to know better. So it’s all snippets learning, like bite size learning, you say on how to actually start a business, manage your records, actually be able to market your business, being able to venture into if it is that you want to partner with it. Oh, bit, little bits of information that is essential for when someone has a startup business or a small business for it to actually thrive and to keep a business going.”

She added that the app also connects users to further training programmes tailored specifically for women entrepreneurs.

“This is actually the 1st part, and It stems into training programs that all tailored for women, entrepreneurs. So you actually can sign up and it’s all free of charge to the individual,” she said.

According to Mudlier, the platform has already gained significant traction, with one in every 15 women accessing the application.

TRAINING AND SUPPORT FOR WOMEN ACROSS GUYANA

Another key programme highlighted at the summit was the Guyana Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN), which provides training and business incubation support for women across the country.

The programme operates through the Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute under the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.

Senior Training Officer Oma Devi Nanku explained that the programme focuses on empowering women by equipping them with practical skills and business knowledge.

“What we do is we’re trying to move all of those women who are vulnerable across all the regions of Guyana from a state of dependency to one of independency. So we do that by offering free technical and vocational skills training, both online and in person. And upon completion of these courses, everyone would be able to get a certificate.”

She noted that since its launch in 2021, the programme has already trained more than 21,000 women, with plans to expand participation even further.

“Just recently, I’ve had the experience of being a part of that course myself to overlook it. And I would have seen firsthand how women come to the training, having no idea how to sew, how to use a machine. And at the end of it, they were actually able to turn that training from just the training to opening a small business, to opening their own sewing business where they can take on work within their own communities.”

Nanku explained that the programme also encourages collaborative economic models where women can work together to secure contracts.

“What we’re also trying to do is to have them with pushing consortium models where we’re having them come together as groups so that maybe they can supply school uniforms, something as simple as that, or maybe medical clothing to hospitals or schools within their community.”

In addition to training, the WIIN programme offers business incubation services to women seeking to establish their own enterprises.

“We also have a business incubator under the WIIN program where we would give support services to women who are starting up their small businesses. So from helping them to come up with a business name, we do a business plan training, which is a one-day training, where we would go through the entire business plan thoroughly.”

“At the end of the training, they’re able to fill out that plan, submit it to us so that when the time comes where we can give them some financial opportunities, we would either connect them with Small Business Bureau, or other financial institutions where they can get assistance to start off your own small businesses as well.”

All services provided under the programme are free of cost, which has contributed to its widespread participation.

“So all of these trainings that I would have been talking about, as well as all of the services that I mentioned, is completely free. So that’s why we’ve been able so far to have so many persons come in,” she said.

The programme also provides flexible online learning options to accommodate women who may already be working.

“Another really good thing about the online training that I mentioned is that it’s completely self-pace. We’re trying to bridge that gap where we know a lot of persons are working, and because of that, they may not be able to attend in-person classes.”

She explained that the online training platform allows participants to learn according to their own schedules.

“what we’re trying to do, true course sera, which is the platform that does the online training, they’re able to choose what timings they can log into the app or the platform and they can select at their own pace they can learn. So that helps them to get to the finish line as well.”

For those interested in participating, Nanku said registration is simple and accessible.

“Sign up is really easy. You can call; you can message our WhatsApp number 618-0612. You can send us a message with your interest in signing up for WIIN training.”

“In addition to that, we would usually post a registration link to our Facebook page at the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Facebook page, where you can click on a link to the registration, or you can also call our phone numbers and we can register you on the phone as well.”

She added that outreach activities are also conducted across the country to ensure women in all regions can access the programme.

“In addition to that, every time we have an outreach, we would ensure WIIN is one of the departments that is present so that we can do on-site registration in all the different regions. In order to access these programs, you have to be 16 years or older,” she said.

The summit ultimately highlighted not only the challenges women face, but also the expanding network of resources, training and support designed to help them build independent and sustainable futures.

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• ExxonMobil, Girls’ Summit 2026, Women, women entering business

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