Bahamas Striping, a new company formed this year with the help of the Ministry of Youth's Self Starter Program, held its official launch and reception Thursday May 19, 2011 at the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture, Oakes Field, Nassau.
The company that bills itself as the first 100% Bahamian-owned company road and car park marking specialist, was started last year with the help of a Ministry of Youth Self Starter Program grant. Bahamas Striping president, Atario Mitchell, 24, was born in Abaco and received his first striping experience in Freeport under his uncle Cai Miller who once performed all the road and car park marking for the Grand Bahama Port Authority.
Last year, wanting to start his own road striping and car park painting business, Mitchell won a $5,000 grant from the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture to help purchase equipment for striping roads in thermoplastic and paint. According to Mitchell his company is now fully-equipped and compliant to the civil engineering standards required by the Ministry of Public Works to stripe roads anywhere in the Bahamas. The company imported an expert striper from the UK to train Bahamians and to become fully-compliant for striping public roads.
Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. Brent Symonette, Member of Parliament for St. Anne’s in Nassau where Atario lives, gave the keynote speech at Bahamas Striping’s launch. Symonette encouraged Mitchell to keep focused and to be determined to go after the big civil works contracts that are becoming available in the country. He advised Mitchell to surround himself with experienced advisers but nonetheless “to be his own man” to chart the future course of his company. Having subcontracted on big jobs such as Nassau Airport’s Phase I and having completed several jobs for high-profile companies, Symonette said he was impressed how far the company has come in one year’s operations.
Minister of Youth, Sports & Culture, the Hon. Charles Maynard, gave an address telling the audience that Mitchell is a great example of what Bahamian youth can achieve and how the government is helping enterprising Bahamian youth. He said hard work and business skills such as those shown by Mitchell, are essential but not always sufficient. In many young businesses what is needed is some capital to get things going and that’s where the government can help. The Minister said he was proud that Mitchell’s grant had blossomed into what appears to be a successful company already. Maynard said he would like to see other youths apply, especially from Grand Bahamas and other Family Islands. He advised youths, if they think they have a novel business idea, to contact his ministry and apply for a Self Starter grant.
During the launch, Chairman of the Self Starter Committee, Phillip Simon, encouraged youths to apply but first to get mentoring and advice from business people with experience. Simon echoed the minister’s remarks saying how they want to help enterprising young Bahamians from all walks of life to think of a new business idea or service and apply for a grant.
Leonard Sands, Facilities & Maintenance Manager for Wendy’s Bahamas, related how Mitchell approached him this year and, impressed with Mitchell and wanting to help the young entrepreneur, took a risk giving him a car park to stripe at Wendy’s new showcase store on Cable Beach. Sands said Mitchell did a wonderful job and he should be getting more.
In his speech, Mitchell said: "The Self Starter program is a success for many young people – I am living proof of that. The government gave me seed money back in February and they are still supporting me now — ready to help where I need it. Both Minister Maynard and the Deputy Prime Minister Symonette have been very encouraging and accessible. They are very eager to empower Bahamian youth. We have firsthand experience of that."
"I'd like to publicly thank all those who have supported me with our company’s first jobs: RND Plaza, New Providence Development Company, Mosko Realty, SuperValue, Lucky Food Stores, and Bahamas Hot Mix. We’d like to also thank Florida companies Ranger Construction and Better Barricades who gave us the Phase I airport job on short notice. The private companies have been good to us but we need the big road jobs that have traditionally gone to foreigners. Now that we’re fully compliant for public roads, with the right equipment and an expert striping technician from the UK to train us, there’s no need for foreign companies to come in here and take away our local jobs," said Mitchell.
"Now that we're proving ourselves as being technically proficient, we're expecting more jobs to come in from private sources and the government. With some hard work, we should have a good future —thanks to the Self Starter Program!
Atario Mitchell, 24, President of the recently launched Bahamas Striping company, received his first experience striping car parks in Freeport, Grand Bahama, under his uncle Cai Miller who once performed all the striping for the Grand Bahama Port Authority. Mitchell said the Ministry of Youth Self Starter grant awarded to him a year ago was essential to his start-up’s success. At the recent opening in Nassau, Mitchell praised the support given to him by the government and private companies. Now he is looking to break into the large public works projects traditionally given to a foreign multi-national. His company is now fully-compliant to stripe public roads with thermoplastic or paint. The government Self Starter grant is designed to help young Bahamian entrepreneurs start new businesses. Mitchell’s grant, awarded in 2010, helped purchase the pictured Graco LineDriver high-speed paint machine that was used to paint the new Lynden Pindling International Airport.
Click HERE to download Atario Mitchell's final speech.
