The Department of Commerce, International Trade, Investment, Enterprise Development and Consumer Affairs will host the fourth annual “Saint Lucia Business Month,” from Nov. 1 to 30.

This year’s theme “Sustainable Enterprises - People, Planet and Profit,” aims to sensitize the business community on the value and importance of practicing economic, social and environmental sustainability, as well as incorporating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their business models and decision-making processes.

Saint Lucia Business Month will be delivered in partnership with key public and private sector agencies in fostering and promoting the message of sustainable development among Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). This will be achieved through a series of targeted events in the form of panel discussions, workshops, symposiums, consultations and business-to-business networking sessions. These activities will seek to highlight what are sustainable enterprises; the benefits to MSMEs in becoming sustainable, and ways by which MSMEs can incorporate sustainable practices into their business operations.

The core objectives of the 2018 Saint Lucia Business Month includes: generating awareness of the functions of the Department of Commerce and its affiliate agencies, and their approaches at fostering and promoting enterprise sustainability; providing practical cases of MSMEs which have successfully adopted sustainable practices and celebrate their achievements; and promoting discussion on the value of entrepreneurship, while highlighting the relationship between entrepreneurship, sustainable development and the SDGs.

As part of activities to commemorate Saint Lucia Business Month, a Media and Ceremonial Launch will be held on Nov. 1 at the National Television Network (NTN) Studio, Hewanorra House, Pointe Seraphine at 10 a.m.

The Department of Commerce, International Trade, Investment, Enterprise Development, and Consumer Affairs encourages the participation and support of the business community and the general public in this year’s Business Month activities. To access the calendar of activities slated for November visit www.facebook.com/sedusaintlucia. For further information on this initiative, contact Jonathan Allain, Business Development Officer at 468-4241/285-3761 or Lydia Dariah, Information Officer at 468-4219/484-1464.