Jul 29, 2026
3 min read
A year ago, Hadassa Gransult struggled with business concepts in the classroom. This week, she stood among 70 graduates of Guyana's inaugural Tertiary Entrepreneurship Award (TEA) programme, holding a business plan for a hair and skincare line she intends to build from the ground up.
"My plan is to create my own products. I want to start my own business and put my knowledge to better work," she said, reflecting on how the programme reshaped ideas that had once felt out of reach.
Gransult was one of dozens of students from five tertiary, technical and vocational institutions — the Government Technical Institute, Guyana Industrial Training Centre, Carnegie School of Home Economics, Mahaicony Technical and Vocational Training Centre, and Leonora Technical and Vocational Training Centre — who spent months turning coursework into concrete business ideas under the pilot programme, culminating in a graduation ceremony attended by Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Susan Rodrigues on Tuesday.
For some graduates, the programme confirmed a path they were already on. For others, it opened one they had never considered. Kiea Wilson, who completed the General Office Administration Level One course, said the training strengthened her interest in office administration and gave her practical knowledge she plans to apply in the workplace — and to pass on to others.
AC refrigeration and repairs trainee Shemaul Agard falls into the second category. He said he had not seriously considered entrepreneurship before the programme, but the experience changed his outlook, encouraging him to think not just about finding a job, but about creating them — for himself and eventually for others.
Not every journey through the programme was smooth. Catering student Jamaal Gaskin said the cost of ingredients required for practical assignments nearly kept him from enrolling. He pushed through, he said, and the support he received along the way made the experience worthwhile. Gaskin now says he is open to either employment or running his own business, crediting the programme with broadening his sense of what is possible.
Beneath these individual stories lies a structured pipeline: training in marketing fundamentals, financial management and record keeping, business proposal writing and small business management, followed by assessments, proposal development, pitch preparation, and a final presentation of shortlisted ideas before a judging panel. The top 15 performers walked away with more than a certificate — grants of up to GYD$400,000 to help turn their business plans into reality.
The programme was implemented by the Small Business Bureau in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
Speaking at the ceremony, Rodrigues said initiatives such as TEA reflected the government's commitment to empowering young Guyanese, fostering innovation and creating pathways for entrepreneurship. She pointed to the recently passed Guyana Development Bank Act 2026 as a further step, one expected to widen access to affordable financing for small and medium-sized enterprises.
She also cited the Security Interests in Movable Property Act 2024, which she said gave businesses a modern framework for using movable assets as collateral — a change she described as key to unlocking financing for entrepreneurs who might otherwise struggle to access it.
