Women entrepreneurs in Guyana are set to benefit from new support aimed at making it easier to sell products, receive payments, and ship goods.
The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security on Sunday launched a new partnership with Zoon Online, Shopping and Shipping, and local fintech company, Flopay, to help women-led businesses operate more efficiently.
Through the Zoon Online Shopping and Shipping program, participants will benefit from preferential shipping rates, reduced service costs, and direct support from the company’s shipping team.
The initiative is designed to remove barriers that often hinder women-led businesses.By providing these services, Zoon aims to enable women entrepreneurs to scale their operations, access international markets, and increase their earning potential.
Marketing Representative for Zoon, Crystal Melville, speaking at the launch highlighted the company’s commitment to supporting women in business and ensuring they have the resources needed to grow and succeed.
“Our goal is to ensure that Guyanese women entrepreneurs have access to affordable shipping rates and seamless sourcing and logistics experiences that allow them to focus on what truly matters, growing their businesses,”
Additionally, Flopay founder, Aleema Seadath, representing the first female-led fintech company in Guyana explained that the company focuses on simplifying payments.
Its first offering in the local market is a point-of-sale device that allows merchants, regardless of their bank, to accept card payment.
“This is actually a really interesting solution, but then how does it work for the people that come to these events? And so ourselves, the ministry, as well as IDB, we came together last Saturday and decided to put together a trial program for three days.That is the dynamism that a fintech can have in comparison to traditional banking solutions. In a single day, we brainstormed and came up with a three-day trial, which allows merchants here to use our devices to accept payments,”
Meanwhile, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, also spoke at the event, noting that the ministry will continue to support women in striving for and achieving success in business.
“What is to come behind me and what has already come here this afternoon would have been things that we were working on for the last three years, ensuring that there was a paperless opportunity for women so that they can be able to ensure that their products not only reach markets, but they do so safely. They can track their business, and they can definitely have the opportunity to step into a digital world of commerce and industry,” the minister said.
