Showcase of innovation and enterprise at St James expo

Entrepreneurs from across the island were given a platform to grow their businesses and build valuable networks on Saturday, as the Emerging Entrepreneurs Manufacturing and Services Trade Fair and Expo brought together innovators, creatives, and service providers at the Hoytes Village Playing Field in St James.

The event, hosted by Barbados Trust Loans Ltd. in conjunction with the Office of the Supervisor of Insolvency, highlighted the range of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises across the island. In addition to the business hub, the family-oriented event also featured a kids’ zone.

Speaking to Barbados TODAY, Business Development Officer of the Barbados Trust Loans Ltd, Ayesha Coppin, explained the genesis of the initiative.

“Our Emerging Entrepreneurs [programme] started last year, and we closed off Broad Street to literally have a market with our local entrepreneurs. We had participants from different sectors showcasing what they do, and we decided that we wanted to host pop-up fairs throughout the island. Our last one was at Weymouth in June,” she said.

“We are looking to do pop-ups across the island going forward, and we will share the locations as we gather and build momentum. These events are not just for our clients; we reached out to the public and invited other entrepreneurs to come and showcase their services.”

The expo featured booths highlighting retail and distribution, manufacturing, agri-processing, and arts and crafts. Among the displays were intricate graphite-based designs from Victoria Haniff and Syriah Griffith, participants in the Community Arts Programme facilitated by the Community Development Department.

Adding to the excitement, a cook-off was staged between parliamentary representatives for St James Minister of Educational Transformation Chad Blackman and Minister of State Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training (with responsibility for Higher Education, Technical and Vocational Training) Sandra Husbands.

The entertainment package included a karaoke competition and scheduled performances by Tionne Hernandez, Brucelee Almightee, and Mole.

Acting Project Manager of the National Insurance and Social Security Service self-employment team, Alethea Thompson, explained that their participation formed part of their community engagement initiative.

“We have brought the office to the playing field, we are so excited because so far we have been able to register persons for self-employment, and we have also done some cards for self-employed persons.”

She noted, “We answered queries because we find that self-employed persons need to know about our services and the benefits we offer.” (STT)