The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of Saint Lucia (GOSLU) have signed a USD7.6 million agreement to finance the Saint Lucia Youth Economy Project through which more than 3000 young people will benefit from business training or financing to start small enterprises.
The loan, which was approved in June, will help to boost the participation and engagement of youth between 15 and 35 years of age in socially inclusive and gender-responsive businesses.
Six hundred young people will be trained in business development, planning, marketing, and business management while an additional 120 youths will receive business mentoring, coaching, and financing.
More than 3,000 youngsters between the ages of 18 and 25 will be supported in enterprise activities in agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, retail, and the services industries as well as the blue, green, and orange economies.
CDB Vice President of Operations, Isaac Solomon noted the pivotal moment the signing represented, saying the agreement marked the sealing of cooperation between the Bank and the GOSLU to increase the participation and engagement of the youth population of Saint Lucia in the country’s economy.
Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Honourable Philip J. Pierre, noted that young people are the primary agents of change and key to building not only Saint Lucia but the wider Caribbean region.