Empowering women, changing lives and building businesses

Omrayan Pillow Enterprise’s products

GUYANA ’ s job market continues to evolve , and more women are considering entrepreneurship as a viable career path.

Cognisant of this , the government continues to deliver on its mandate to empower them through the implementation of programmes specifically designed to provide opportunities for growth and development

Recently, 1,400 women across the 10 administrative regions, successfully completed certification courses facilitated by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN) programme

Of these women , 650 have gained employment while another 350 have started their own businesses

Three established business owners shared their journey with the Department of Public Information (DPI).

Mother of two and a former insurance agent, Omiana Kellman ’ s desire to start Omrayan Pillow Enterprise stemmed from her discovering a missing niche market

“ I started this business because one day I was looking for a pillow, and there were no shops or supermarkets at that time, and in order for me to get one, I had to go all the way to Georgetown, and you know with the traffic and everything, it was very hectic So, the idea came,” she recounted

Omiana expressed that as a first-time business owner, she experienced difficulties with managing her time and finances

“At first it was a challenge Everything was a challenge, one of my biggest challenges was time management, because owning a business, you have to complete the task at a certain time so that your orders can be completed So, I had to work a lot on that.”

With help from the WIIN programme, she applied prudent business principles and learnt to overcome these challenges

“During the WIIN pro- gramme they taught me how to manage my time properly by creating a plan and then working on a step from that to accomplish making your product, to get it on time to customers,” she recalled

Omiana was awarded cash grants from the Small Business Bureau (SBB) and the WIIN programme to offset the cost of inventory.

“When I started off my business first, I got funding from the small business bureau , through the ministry and they gave me my first start I purchased a machine and raw materials And with the WIIN program , I was given another opportunity to get financial assistance and I also purchased some raw materials.”

She reflected on how much she has accomplished and encouraged budding entrepreneurs to take the opportunities being offered by government to help start or improve their businesses

“I would like to encourage anyone that wants to improve their business and even want to start their business to join the WIIN programme, it is very good and it has helped me And now I am able to provide, not just for myself , but for my family and also encourage my girls to be independent and to own their own business.”

The programme aims to empower women and promote gender equality in employment

Stay-at-home mom, Lisa Francis’ motivation to start her business came from a desire to do more for her family She took advantage of the unlimited resources available online and decided to fill a gap in the market

“I decided to look at videos and decided you know what? I want to start making bags, and I see it as going far I see myself as going far in the bag business

I know that in Guyana we don’t have like a major bag company that does production , so I decided that you know what, I can