SBB’s Help Desks to facilitate residents in other regions
DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, March 13, 2018
After several fruitful discussions with representatives of the Ministry of Communities and the Regions Four, Six, Seven and Nine Regional Administrations, the way forward has been paved for the Small Business Bureau (SBB), to establish Help Desks in the four regions.
Marketing and Research Officer of Small Business Bureau, Shamane Headley.
The initiative aims to reduce the number of ‘out-of-town’ persons travelling to Georgetown to access the agency’s services, Research and Marketing Officer, Shamane Headley told the Department of Public Information (DPI).
“It is a bit of a challenge for us to service those regions,” Headley explained that the idea to establish Help Desks in these regions rose from the agency’s realisation that its presence was not as widespread in other areas as compared to Georgetown.
Headley believes the Help Desk project will eliminate challenges faced by persons in the four regions when accessing SBB services, particularly its finance programmes.
“The services the Small Business Bureau offer is wide-ranging. There are not financing only, but it includes other support services. For example, we have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Deeds Registry, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).”
Headley added, “we facilitate getting those documents for our clients in outlined regions. Most persons do not know that unless a staff of the agency visits the region. The help desk facility will make it a lot easier for them.”
With the growing response from clients in some of the regions, Headley said the agency envisions establishing a permanent outlet in those areas within a few months or a year.
The Help Desk facility will see several members of staff of the agency being trained particularly in filling forms and documents related to SBB operations. Additionally, upon the completion of the Industrial and Business incubators in Lethem and Berbice, SBB staff will also be stationed at these facilities to serve residents in those regions.
By: Crystal Stoll