A network of female empowerment

Connecting women countrywide, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Network (WENET) promotes female entrepreneurs and helps in empowering them to be self-sufficient.
The project originally started in January 2011 with the financial support from Exxon Mobil and the personal support from a Canadian intern, through the International Youth Internship Program from The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

It was originally aimed to equip 50 female entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills and support to develop sustainable businesses in Region Four.  Through various workshops, networking events, monthly meetings and conferences, recruitment to the project has risen to more than 65 female entrepreneurs.
Some workshops conducted included assisting women with their written business plans (a requirement for obtaining a loan), teaching them the value of record keeping, types of records to be kept for a small business, accounts for tax purposes and financial reporting, budgeting, and examples of different record keeping books, and tutorials on basic marketing principals and assisted the participants to develop their own marketing strategy for their business.
Apart from these meetings, workshops and networking events, the female entrepreneurs have benefitted from the support of one another and the fostering of entrepreneurship in Guyana. Many of the women work together as partners, supporting and promoting each other’s business and learning from each other.
In the support group, women who are part of the project can come together to get ideas and advice while discussing their challenges. This network is the core of the entire project: women using one another as mentors, and strengthening the group through increased participation levels while attracting new members.
WENET’s objectives are to provide female entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills, and support to improve their businesses, ensure sustainability and ultimately enhance their quality of life; develop participants by building confidence and empowering them to become leaders and managers in their communities inspiring other female entrepreneurs; and create a network of female entrepreneurs that will work together, support each other, and foster entrepreneurship within Guyana.

As part of its mandate to empower women, WENET created an exposition which provided a platform where women could market their talents and products. With the premiere of Guyana’s Women’s Enterprise Exposition (WENEX), a one-day event held last year at the Tower Hotel Poolside, women countrywide were the given the opportunity to form a network in promoting their businesses. The exposition’s aim was to stimulate female independence, safety and success in Guyana and this it did successfully.
WENET helps to promote women in business areas such as cake decorating, salon (hair, manicures, and pedicures), bar/restaurant/snackette/deli, day care/babysitting, retail store/ boutique (clothes, shoes, wedding dresses, accessories), edible arrangements, printing/publishing, mobile confectionary stand (toys, snacks, poultry, food), fashion design, recording studio, grocery and variety stores, food vending, animal care, and catering.
The organisation’s vision is to a vibrant network of female entrepreneurs known and respected for creating jobs and successful businesses to ensure a bright future for Guyana and beyond.
For more information on upcoming programmes, visit wenexguyana.wordpress.com (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)