A new program designed to help small businesses in the region is focusing its efforts through a competition aimed at finding the region's best business enablers, with 10 seats up for grabs in Accelerate Caribbean's 12-month Business Incubation Clinic.
Accelerate Caribbean is an 18-month program funded by the Canadian government as part of its $20 million Entrepreneurship Program for Innovation in the Caribbean (EPIC), which seeks to "build an enabling ecosystem to foster high-growth and sustainable enterprises throughout the Caribbean". Accelerate Caribbean is designed by infoDev, a global innovation and entrepreneurship division within the World Bank Group.
Accelerate is focusing on upgrading the skills and capacity of business enablers, and raising awareness of entrepreneurship and innovation across 14 CARICOM countries: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The program is intended to make the region's most promising business enablers even better through a tailored package of training and mentorship.
"To support EPIC's goals, Accelerate Caribbean is currently running a competition to find the region's best business enablers. Business enablers are existing organizations or new consortia of organizations which provide entrepreneurs and start-ups with various types of support and motivation. This support might take the form of training, seed capital, professional advisory services, technology and workspace, or events and networking opportunities," Natalia Pipia, Team Leader, IMC Worldwide said in a press release advising of the competition.
The project is being administered by IMC Worldwide.
"Following the competitive selection process, up to 10 successful applicants will win a place in Accelerate Caribbean's 12-month Business Incubation Clinic. The clinic will match each enabler with an internationally-renowned entrepreneurship mentor who will provide one-on-one coaching and advice, peer-to-peer learning sessions, tailored networking opportunities and exposure to new models and best practices of accelerating early-stage enterprises' growth. Mentors will identify regional and international events relevant to their mentees, who will also benefit from priority access to infoDev's Business Incubation Management Training Program."
Guardian Business understands that mentoring will take place both face-to-face and virtually, and that in addition to a tailored support program, each enabler will also take part in mentor-led online workshops for all clinic participants.
"This will bring like-minded enablers from the region together and support peer-to-peer learning and networking opportunities for all the selected enablers," Pipia said.
The reported that by August 2016, Accelerate Caribbean is expected to have delivered a 12-month Business Incubation Clinic (BIC) program for up to 10 business enablers, delivered four of infoDev's Business Incubation Management (BIM) training sessions across the region and hosted round-table discussions within the region to encourage collaboration and champion entrepreneurship and innovation.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
