Suriname entrepreneurs lead the way in greening businesses

PARAMARIBO, Suriname (ILO News) - The My Green Enterprise (MGE) programme, an initiative of the International Labour Organization (ILO), is paving the way for more sustainable entrepreneurship in the Caribbean. This vision is becoming a reality thanks to the dedication of seven newly certified trainers: Haidy Aroma, Soraya Hussainali, Detie Jagan, Zippora Oosterling, Genéva Becker, Refaël Schmeltz, and Arianne de Bye—who are equipping entrepreneurs with practical tools to reduce their environmental footprint, boost competitiveness, and create decent work opportunities.

With two dynamic training tracks, Starting My Green Enterprise and Greening My Enterprise, the programme empowers participants to design eco-friendly ventures or transform existing businesses into greener, more competitive models. Originally piloted in Latin America and the Caribbean during the pandemic, under the leadership of John Bliek, Sustainable Enterprise and Job Creation Specialist at the ILO Office for the Caribbean, the programme responded to a major gap: the absence of a practical tool to help entrepreneurs make the green transition. What began as a regional innovation has now grown into one of the ILO’s most recognized regional products on sustainable enterprises supporting the evermore important work on Just Transition. Between November 2024 and March 2025, twenty professionals completed an intensive five-day Training of Trainers in Paramaribo. Today, seven are fully certified, with another four close to completion. Their work is already reaching nearly 80 entrepreneurs across the country, who are adopting eco-friendly practices and strengthening their businesses to thrive in an increasingly green economy.

This effort directly supports Suriname’s national strategy to retain its status as one of the world’s few carbon-negative, high-forest, low-deforestation countries. As the country works toward its NDC 3.0 goals, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are proving to be essential drivers in enabling a just transition that balances economic growth with environmental stewardship.

Voices of the trainers

The success of the programme is best told through the voices of the newly certified trainers:

“The My Green Enterprise Programme Certification project was an encouraging and inspiring experience for me. I am eager to share and enhance my learning with future trainees and colleagues in the years to come.” Haidy Aroma

“My Green Enterprise is the best methodology to start up green businesses or make existing businesses greener, resulting in a greener world for all of us.” Detie Jagan, Head Policy Officer, National Bureau of Gender, Ministry of Internal Affairs

“My Green Enterprise training from the ILO was an enlightening experience - rich in knowledge, dynamic in participation, and invaluable for one of the greenest countries on earth, Suriname.” Arianne de Bye, Executive Board Representative, Vereniging Surinaams Bedrijfslevens

Together, these trainers are building momentum for a greener, fairer economy in Suriname, demonstrating how local leadership can help achieve global climate and development goals. The MGE programme’s regional impact is also seen in Belize, where 20 students from Independence Junior College in the Stann Creek District completed the Course in December 2023, further expanding the network of empowered green entrepreneurs across the Caribbean.