The iDiscover business incubator opened last weekend, marking the officially beginning of a weekly market designed to help local small businesses to grow, until they can move out of the space and on to larger markets, the incubator's principal Tehranique Miller told Guardian Business yesterday.

The craft market, which is also a farmers' market, is located on St. Albans Drive and comprises small businesses that specialize in products utilizing coconuts, conch, straw, woodwork, Junkanoo, sand, sponge, wire, soap, cigars, candy, canvas, shells, candles and batik.

The market is open every Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. While iDiscover is for both tourists and locals, Miller said locals are an essential lifeblood of the small business sector in the country and therefore should seek to patronize the market at every opportunity.

"It's difficult starting anything and starting a business is particularly difficult, because you're putting money in and if you can't see that money come back, it can be discouraging," Miller said.

"And in this current economic time, with a lot of budding entrepreneurs taking that jump, I want to encourage people to support that. It's a mutually beneficial relationship."

Miller explained that the goal of the market incubator model is to have companies that cannot afford to rent a brick and mortar space or afford a marketing budget, be able to grow the business at iDiscover, while also teaching the craft they sell to a new generation of Bahamians, who could then start their own small businesses.

She said the the businesses will grow at their own pace, until they are ready to take their next step.

"The underlying theme for incubation for these business is I want to see these businesses develop up and out of the site," said Miller.

"So once they've gotten to a point where their sales increase and they need to increase production... they may need a brick and mortar location, so they can have a warehouse space.

"While they're on the site, they're working with young people to pass on this knowledge and then as they grow and develop and need to move on, that young person is then right in line for incubating their business.

"I want to see this growing to a point where we have a constant line-up of Bahamian artists and crafters that are taking advantage of the opportunity to expose their product to the public and grow their business to the next level.

"We're not just an incubator, but we're like a catalyst to their development and all of that depends on support from the local market, because if they don't make money they can't develop or enhance their businesses."

Miller said iDiscover offers everything a vendor needs to operate a business, including power and internet.

"We wanted to make sure that space showcases the best of the best," she said.

The post Small business incubator and market now operating every weekend appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

The post Small business incubator and market now operating every weekend appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

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