The Small Enterprise Development Unit (SEDU) will host a symposium on financial management during the month of September which is being observed as Business Month.

Business Development Officer at SEDU, Egbert Stevens, said that access to finance and the strategic management of finances has been considered a major impediment to the growth of small and medium sized businesses in Saint Lucia.

"As a result, the symposium intends to look at the whole management of finance, access to finance, risk management and to bring together both established and potential SMEs with lending agencies to interact one on one."

Stevens said the symposium aims to help advance the commercial sector in Saint Lucia.

"Small businesses complain that lending agencies are not sensitive to their needs; and on the flip side, the banks are saying that these clients are not ready. So we want to bring them together in a forum where they are going to understand each other's requirements."

SMEs comprise 76 percent of local businesses in Saint Lucia. The Ministry of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs is responsible for overseeing the growth of the commercial sector.

The Financial Management Symposium is slated for Monday, Sep. 21. at the Bay Gardens Hotel Conference Centre.

For symposium details, contact SEDU.