Stakeholders meet to work on boosting Belizean products

The Office of the Prime Minister, through BELTRAIDE, hosted a Buy Belizean Information and Exchange session at the Phoenix Business Center in Belmopan. The session brought together key stakeholders from both the public and private to discuss and design the initiatives aimed at boosting local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise. The Buy Belizean Campaign seeks to highlight the quality and diversity of Belizean products, from handcrafted goods to innovative services. Key elements of the campaign include a series of social media promotions, local workshops, and partnerships to highlight local businesses. Nikki Augustine, Manager for Marketing and Communications at Beltraide, spoke to Love News about the importance of creating a space where small businesses can be developed.

Nikki Augustine, Manager for Marketing and Communications, BELTRAIDE: “From the campaign as I mentioned some of the objectives that we’re trying to do is not only raise awareness about Belizean products but kind of address also why Belizeans are not purchasing these local products and look at whether it’s a measure because of cost or the quality of Belizean products. I think what we found is that Belizeans tend to think that our quality of products are lesser and it’s not necessarily true. So that’s one of the objectives that the campaign aims to address. Additionally we kind of want to look at the culture shift in terms of recognizing what Belizean products are and what are uniquely Belizean products. We do realize that sometimes saturation has to do with the creativity so we as of right now we are doing the National MSME road show and as a part of that National MSME roadshow we are also giving courses and classes, free training for small businesses.”

The campaign also aims to educate consumers about the broader economic impact of their purchasing choices. By supporting local businesses, Belizeans can help reduce the country’s reliance on imports, which can lead to a more resilient and self-sustaining economy.

Nikki Augustine, Manager for Marketing and Communications, BELTRAIDE: “The measure of success is how many of these businesses are meeting the standards that we could use them within the government ministry. So things like that we’re using to procure and also export. Export is very very important. The Buy Belizean campaign is not only for us to push this nationally but also internationally through our different ambassadors. Our GDP has been up 10%, there is good things that are happening within the economy of Belize so this is no better time for us to come out and say hey we’re recognizing these good things but our MSME sector is still growing. Of course we do have a significant impact on the GDP of Belize but there is much more that can be done. So we’re hoping that through pushing campaigns like this that we can get greater export potential and development for our MSMEs in Belize.”

The Buy Belize campaign has been in the pipeline since 2020 and it is expected to continue facilitating citizen entrepreneurial endeavors.