OAS pushing entrepreneurship

Representative of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Ambassador Francis McBarnette, is hoping that the Caribbean Innovation Challenge (CIC) competition will result in tremendous
rewards for the participants and the countries they originate from.

The Ambassador’s comments came while speaking at a press conference last Friday (March 15) to outline the progress being made on the competition, which is set to come to an end next month, as he noted that the mechanism has worked considerably well in Latin America and he is hoping that similar success can be achieved in the Caribbean region. The CIC is an international entrepreneurship competition and business start-up accelerator for young people in CARICOM Member States and Affiliate Members States.

Akarda Ventour, Programme Officer for the Caribbean with the
Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) (right), and Representative
of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Ambassador
Francis McBarnette, during the press conference on Friday, March 15.

“In Latin America this process has developed a couple millionaires. A couple young people have entered the programme with a business idea and have become millionaires. It is a programme that works, because it is not only you presenting a business idea, we are working along with you. And I think what is critical, is the follow up after the process, to guide you to finance and support, which is usually where people fall up. They have a very good business idea, but the follow up is weak and one of the challenges as you know, is access to finance. So we are holding your hand and guiding you there,” he stated.

McBarnette added, “This is not play, this is real work and this is getting people from where they are to becoming entrepreneurs in our region. It is not a school project that will go away tomorrow, this is a life experience.”

The OAS Representative noted that the competition not only helps to build capacity, but confidence among the participants, and helps to prepare them for the hemispheric competition, which would include countries from Central and South America where the level of competition is even higher.

“We are hoping our young people, our future entrepreneurial class would actually step up and compete on an even keel with these participants... We are hoping that they will look around and use their context and bring business ideas that are unique, that has something that is distinctly Barbadian or Grenadian or Jamaican and so you have a product that is not easily replicated and that has sustainability,” he added. (JRT)