 Meanwhile, as indicated by Hon. Emma Hippolit, many micro, small and medium enterprises, MSMEs in St. Lucia have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has forced business owners to build greater resilience in their business practices by adopting more creative and innovative ICT tools and it devices to facilitate their business processes. Glenn Simon reports. The Ministry of Commerce, manufacturing, business development, cooperatives and consumer affairs is all get up for the observance of business month from November 1 to 30 of 2021, under the theme, propelling business development through technology. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Sophia Henry, noted that despite the devastating impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on all aspects of business activity, opportunities for building resilience while improving the productivity of businesses must be highlighted. Many of our businesses have suffered reduced sales, losses, even closure and they have been forced to adopt more creative and innovative ICT tools and we believe that advanced technology is our business's fighting chance during the COVID era and to ensure sustainability The activities for business month commences on November 1 with an address by the Commerce Minister Honourable Emma Hippolit which will be aired on NTN and posted on social media. The Ministry has also planned several capacity building workshops targeting existing and new entrepreneurs. The first is from the 3rd to the 5th of November, that's our lean canvas business model, it's a business planning workshop and during that workshop the participants will be given a template and we will assist them to complete a business plan in a format that can be submitted to a financial institution or any other stakeholder. During the week of November 8th to the 14th, that's Global Entrepreneurship Week. Now Global Entrepreneurship Week will be spearheaded by the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, however on the 10th of November there will be a business resource symposium and the Ministry of Commerce will be making a presentation during that symposium whereby we will be informing the general public of all the resources that are available to businesses through the ministry. She added that a business start-up essentials workshop is slated for November 17th while the Ministry will host a workshop entitled Design Thinking to Develop a Business from November 18th to the 30th. This workshop is geared at creative young persons with business ideas to think out of the box. And so it's a 9 day workshop but 9 half days so again we appeal to our young people to take advantage to contact us and to register for these workshops. The Commerce PS emphasized that a deliberate focus is being placed on the youth economy by the Ministry of Commerce. The Ministry of Commerce will be there to support because we want to ensure that our young people do not just see themselves as employees but as entrepreneurs because they are intelligent, they are creative and they just need that opportunity for them to start up a business and they will get that assistance at the Ministry of Commerce. So yes, the youth economy will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance but the Ministry of Commerce will be working collaboratively with the Ministry of Finance to provide that support to the youth so that they can start up their businesses. The St Lucia Taiwan Partnership Trade Show will be held on November 26th and 27th utilizing both a virtual and physical presence at the Grosally Human Resource Center. The full calendar of activities for Business Month can be accessed by visiting Seidu St Lucia's Facebook page. For the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Glenn Simon reporting.