{"id":27105,"date":"2019-04-30T14:37:54","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T18:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=27105"},"modified":"2019-04-30T14:37:54","modified_gmt":"2019-04-30T18:37:54","slug":"pm-opens-local-business-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"PM Opens Local Business Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

The Antigua and Barbuda government Tuesday said it was laying the groundwork for improving the economic climate here as it warned that the island needed to create many more local entrepreneurs to deal with the employment situation here.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cWe continue to educate our youth and they return to this country. We need to provide opportunities for employment,\u201d Prime Minister Gaston Browne said at the first in a series of planned interactions between the government and the private sector.<\/p>\n

He told the forum, which is being held under the theme \u201cStrengthening Local Businesses for Long Term Sustainability,\u201d there was need for nationals to be able to manage businesses in the country.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cThat is why we are now seeking to broaden the business infrastructure to create more opportunities so that we are not fazed with a major problem of graduates who are unemployed.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the problem in some countries and we know we have to go the extra mile in creating the opportunities to make sure that they are productively engaged upon their return,\u201d Browne told the forum.<\/p>\n

The forum will initiate a structured dialogue from which a greater common understanding, and recommendations for improving the business environment in Antigua and Barbuda, will emerge and Browne said that his administration is seeking to equip the next generation of business leaders with the skills to grow and sustain their enterprises.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cWe still have a number of businesses, most of them are run informally and our people need to recognise that operating a business is a science\u201d.<\/p>\n

He told the forum that unlike previous years when a bank provided loans to start ups without much needed information, nowadays \u201cto get a loan you need a plan.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cGone are the days when you walk into a bank and you ask the general manager for a bligh to get a loan to start a business, those days are gone. You are operating in a more competitive space and our entrepreneurs must develop the skills and the discipline to operate successful businesses,\u201d he added.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

The government said that the information garnered from these engagements will be used to develop a strategic roadmap that both the public and private sector may use to monitor the progress in implementing mutually-agreed recommendations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Antigua and Barbuda government Tuesday said it was laying the groundwork for improving the economic climate here as it warned that the island needed to create many more local entrepreneurs to deal with the employment situation here. \u201cWe continue to educate our youth and they return to this country. We need to provide opportunities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPM Opens Local Business Forum - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PM Opens Local Business Forum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Antigua and Barbuda government Tuesday said it was laying the groundwork for improving the economic climate here as it warned that the island needed to create many more local entrepreneurs to deal with the employment situation here. \u201cWe continue to educate our youth and they return to this country. We need to provide opportunities […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-30T18:37:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anr-Gaston-b.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"848\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"PM Opens Local Business Forum\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-30T18:37:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-04-30T18:37:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/\"},\"wordCount\":378,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:848\/h:536\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anr-Gaston-b.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Economy\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/\",\"name\":\"PM Opens Local Business Forum - Antigua News Room\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:848\/h:536\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anr-Gaston-b.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-30T18:37:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-04-30T18:37:54+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:848\/h:536\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anr-Gaston-b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:848\/h:536\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anr-Gaston-b.jpg\",\"width\":\"848\",\"height\":\"536\",\"caption\":\"Prime Minister Gaston Browne (file photo).\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"PM Opens Local Business Forum\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"name\":\"Antigua News Room\",\"description\":\"News As It Happens\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Antigua Newsroom\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"width\":1260,\"height\":1260,\"caption\":\"Antigua Newsroom\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"PM Opens Local Business Forum - Antigua News Room","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"PM Opens Local Business Forum","og_description":"The Antigua and Barbuda government Tuesday said it was laying the groundwork for improving the economic climate here as it warned that the island needed to create many more local entrepreneurs to deal with the employment situation here. \u201cWe continue to educate our youth and they return to this country. We need to provide opportunities […]","og_url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/","og_site_name":"Antigua News Room","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","article_published_time":"2019-04-30T18:37:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":848,"height":536,"url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anr-Gaston-b.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_site":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/"},"author":{"name":"Editor","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5"},"headline":"PM Opens Local Business Forum","datePublished":"2019-04-30T18:37:54+00:00","dateModified":"2019-04-30T18:37:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/"},"wordCount":378,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:848\/h:536\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anr-Gaston-b.jpg","articleSection":["Economy","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/","name":"PM Opens Local Business Forum - Antigua News Room","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:848\/h:536\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anr-Gaston-b.jpg","datePublished":"2019-04-30T18:37:54+00:00","dateModified":"2019-04-30T18:37:54+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:848\/h:536\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anr-Gaston-b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:848\/h:536\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anr-Gaston-b.jpg","width":"848","height":"536","caption":"Prime Minister Gaston Browne (file photo)."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-opens-local-business-forum\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"PM Opens Local Business Forum"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","name":"Antigua News Room","description":"News As It Happens","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization","name":"Antigua Newsroom","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","width":1260,"height":1260,"caption":"Antigua Newsroom"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","caption":"Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/3794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}