The Government of Belize, through the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE), under the Building Resilient MSMEs- Accelerating Digitization Project funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the E-Governance and Digitalization Unit (EGDU) under the Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, Logistics and E-Governance opened the first Digital Connect Center at the Community Library in San Estevan Village, Orange Walk.

This launch of the Digital Connect Center is the first of many scheduled for this year. The Digital Connect Centers will offer free access to computers, internet, and various digital technologies, and is a part of a national commitment from all the key collaborators to promote digital inclusion for disadvantaged communities. The center doubles as a landing space (i) to promote entrepreneurial development, business innovation and competitiveness for Micro Small Medium Enterprise (MSME) and will (ii) provide access to digital literacy trainings to upskill youths, the unemployed, underemployed and the elderly.

Citizens and entrepreneurs can now access business development information, connect with government agencies, improve their technological capacities, and engage with others through mentorship or advisory services to propel their economic growth. The Digital Connect Centers will connect entrepreneurs to BELTRAIDE's Virtual Knowledge Center (VKC) platform that provides access to training materials for enterprise growth and innovation, the MSME Directory, a Job Portal and access to other support services and catalogues. The launch event represents an investment of USD $15,000 from UNDP with contribution from the Belize National Library Service. The keynote speaker was Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister of Belize.