SheTrades Hub platform launched to help female entrepreneurs

SAYING that the government is concerned about how female entrepreneurs are thriving through present difficult times, Trade Minister Paula Gopee Scoon said the government has now implemented sustainable measures to help female entrepreneurs beyond the pandemic grow.

The minister was  speaking during a webinar  at the launch of SheTrades Hub on Wednesday after a memorandum of understanding was signed between the International Trade Centre and Export TT on Wednesday. She announced that TT was the first country in the Caribbean to launch the platform.

This platform, she said, will provide a pathway for business expansion, enabling TT’s female entrepreneurs to receive technical training, professional mentorship, compete in international tenders, and procurement processes and attend international trade.

“It also encourages engagement among female-owned businesses on online forums to exchange ideas, experiences, and collaborate to develop solutions to overcome challenges often faced by women in business.”

The webinar was attended by hundreds of female entrepreneurs.

Gopee-Scoon said the SheTrade Hub also offers invaluable opportunities for TT female-owned micro, zmall and medium enterprises, as it promotes their inclusion into global supply chains, and provides an income-earning avenue for TT's enterprising women.

She said the government will also be supporting female entrepreneurship through many tools which will include enhancing access to information and communications technology (ICT) and E-Commerce. The minister said covid19 has demonstrated that inadequate access to ICT hinders entrepreneurship.

In such regard, she said several initiatives are being executed to expand access to ICT. Access TT Centres, she said, are being established throughout the country to deliver training and provide access to e-government services ,particularly in the rural and less-developed areas of the country.

Gopee-Scoon said specific services being offered include: cybercafe facilities, ICT training, conference room facilities, e-learning through free online Microsoft learning resources, access to Wi-Fi lounges/patios with free internet access, and more.

Gopee-Scoon lamented how proud she feels knowing that TT is now part of a community of over 25 countries working towards connecting over three million women entrepreneurs to global markets.