Over its current financial year, the Small Business Association has openly embraced 39 new small businesses with four orientation sessions occurring within that time span.

As the association’s membership grows steadily, its wings continue to expand to envelop all new and existing members so that they too can grow within the nurturing environment provided by the SBA.

The association seeks to maximize the opportunity to help start-ups and entry-stage businesses to soar to higher heights through the use of various support tools and programmes such as:

• - Guidelines to starting a new business through the Small Business Start-Up E-Toolkit found on the SBA’s website
• - The provision of training sessions to assist small business persons in better equipping themselves to manage their businesses
• - The marketing of small businesses through the Be SME Smart Programme designed to sensitize and encourage the patronage of consumers to the products offered by MSMEs
• - The continued representation of the interests of MSMEs through unrelenting lobbying, advocacy, educational and networking opportunities and strategic alliances in order to promote overall productivity, efficiency and profitability.
• The newly oriented firms spanned a diverse range of sectoral groups with the majority providing professional services. Other sectoral groups represented by the new members included agriculture, agro-processing, construction, general services, ICT, manufacturing, arts & crafts, wholesale and retail and tourism-related services. On average these businesses employ 222 persons with most of the firms consisting of 1-5 employees.

Picture Caption: New members at the SBA’s recent Orientation with CEO, Ms. Lynette Holder (front left)