Small businesses urged to expand

Operators of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are being advised to grab hold of available opportunities to grow their operations.

This advice came on Tuesday during the official launch of RevUp Caribbean, a Jamaica-based virtual incubator and training programme for SMEs, which is designed to help businesses across the Caribbean increase their ability to receive financing, grow through mentorship, training and access to strong business network.

With support from a number of local and international organisations, RevUp Caribbean has been working with over 30 participants over the past seven months, and has now opened applications for a second cohort slated to start next month.

During a panel discussion, Terry-Ann Segree, Private Finance Operation Senior Specialist with IDB Lab, said she was satisfied development partners were more willing to provide assistance to SMEs who are keen on expanding access to technology and digital services and serve up climate change adaptation and mitigation solutions.

“We also realise that more development partners are also looking at these businesses that are offering solutions to the poor and vulnerable – social inclusion and economic improvement of people’s lives – and this is one of the reasons why I think all businesses out there should take advantage of the opportunities that exist,” said Segree.

Pointing out that development partners were helping to build an eco-system to help businesses grow, she stressed “I think if there is any time that we as entrepreneurs should take advantage of what is going on, it’s now. The stars are aligning for the opportunities that exist for businesses to take advantage”.

Managing Director of RevUp Caribbean Ltd. Sandra Glasgow said she was keen to see businesses in the region expand. However, she said while RevUp Caribbean would continue to build out an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Caribbean, the full support of regional leaders and financial institutions was needed.

“We want to equip them as well as we can to make sure these businesses grow. We are invested in the growth of businesses across the Caribbean, we are invested in the growth of our economies,” she said.

“We need the support of Governments in the region. We need the support of financial agencies, banks and development organisations. We have been having all of those conversations from Trinidad and Tobago to Barbados and Belize to the OECS, and so we are really excited about opening up RevUp Caribbean to founders [of businesses] in the wider Caribbean,” said Glasgow.

In the first cohort, most firms were from Jamaica with only one from Trinidad and Tobago. The programme consists of two main components – one for start-ups and one for companies that are ready for scale-up.

Project Manager of the Development Bank of Jamaica Christopher Brown said he was concerned that for too long, many micro, small and medium-sized businesses in the Caribbean have been “stuck” at one level.

“We really want to give as many opportunities and resources for them to scale-up. This is an opportunity for people to get that type of guidance so that they can grow. Just consider yourself, you are an entrepreneur and you want to eventually be a large corporation and there are these different opportunities along the way – mentorship, coaching, grant funding, angel investing, loans, partnerships – to become a larger business in the future

“Start to take advantage of those opportunities so that we can no longer be a bunch of small businesses in the Caribbean, but larger businesses for the world,” said Brown. (MM)