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By David Hinkson
While there has been lots of talk about the importance of entrepreneurship over the years, Barbados must take a more holistic approach to it if it is to become more than just a buzzword.
This was one of the main points coming out of the annual Elsie Payne Memorial Lecture put on by the Queens College Association (QCA) during its week of activities, where Executive Chairman of the Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation, Celeste Foster, spoke on the topic, “Creating an Entrepreneurial Society”.
She stated that, “It is important that we come up with a strategic plan covering at least twenty years, and these plans must have a clear direction in terms of development goals, strict timelines, and a high level of accountability. Results have to be declared in a timely and orderly fashion, and every five years there should be a review and adjustments made where necessary. Whistleblowing where any wrongdoing is detected is also an important factor.”
Foster noted that Barbados has had a long history of entrepreneurship, some of it born out of necessity. Citing the example of chattel houses, Foster said: “After emancipation the former slaves had to find housing solutions, but they had no money to buy land and the plantation owners could evict them from the land whenever they so desired. As a result, they came up with a house that could easily be dismantled and moved from one spot to another, and based on their living experiences, they were designed to cope with the unique features of the climate.”
The late Dame Elsie Payne in whose honour the annual lecture is held.
She also spoke of the many black-owned businesses that once occupied Roebuck Street in Bridgetown, noting that many of them eventually went under owing to difficulties in securing financing as well as societal changes. “Initially many of these businesses were funded via remittances from relatives who had gone to work in Cuba, Panama, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom, but when these sources dried up, they found it difficult to secure financing from the banks which were owned by the planter class, and eventually they gave up the businesses and looked towards education as the way forward for their children.”
In terms of creating a better environment for entrepreneurship to flourish, Foster pointed out that: “We have to tell our stories; not just the successes, but the struggles, the failures along the way, how we bounced back and the lessons learned along the way. We also have to remove the stigma we often attach to people whose business ventures may not have been successful, because in many cases it is not the person; sometimes the market is not quite ready for the product they come up with or it is more suitable for another purpose. For example, Coca Cola was initially meant to be a medicinal tonic, but it failed miserably in that regard, and now it is one of the world’s most recognised soft drink brands.”
She also suggested that Barbadians could follow the examples of India and Ireland, “where they encouraged their people to leave the country, work and study for a number of years, and then come back with some new and innovative business ideas that helped build out their economy. We can also tap into our diaspora and use their knowledge and connections overseas to grow our local businesses.”
