Entrepreneurs urged to create co-ops

Entrepreneurs in Barbados are being encouraged to join forces as they seek to grow their market share locally and expand into new markets.

The Cooperatives Department has embarked on a mission to help them do just that.

On Friday, the department, which falls under the Ministry of Energy and Business, held a Cooperatives Market Day at Baobab Tower in Warrens, providing an opportunity for some 20 entrepreneurs, who are either already part of a cooperative or will soon be members of one, to showcase their products and services.

A cooperative is a group of individuals – not necessarily in the same industry – coming together to pool resources to meet common economic and social needs.

Registrar of Cooperatives and Friendly Societies within the Cooperatives Department of the Ministry of Energy and Business, Brent Gittens said he was hoping that the co-op market would become a regular event, allowing the entrepreneurs to get more exposure.

Mentioning the local Old Duppy brand of pepper sauce that recently made its debut in the UK market, Gittens said that while some entrepreneurs and small businesses have been “dominating” the market here, he believed it was necessary to create opportunities for them to now export.

“We are hoping that these cooperatives can work together and get their products and services into the regional and international market,” he said.

With some 15 registered cooperatives on the island, Gittens said he was satisfied that more entrepreneurs were showing an interest in forming these enterprises.

“I think a few years ago, cooperatives were a bit low-key but the corporate sector now is coming on board to support them in terms of funding and allowing them to put their products on some of their shelves,” he said, adding that the increase in cooperatives has been particularly noticed in the last three to four years.

“I think a part of that has to do with the challenges that people are facing in the economy and their everyday lives. They are realising that working together makes more sense than working as individuals.”

The business owners who spoke with Barbados TODAY welcomed the market day, saying it was necessary to allow residents to learn about and support their operations.

Outgoing President of the Women Entrepreneurs of Barbados (WEB) Juan Wilson is the operator of a seven-year-old small-scale beverage production company, Uniquely Crafted.

She said the event was necessary “to get persons to be more familiar with the local brands in Barbados”.

“I think this is a good start that we can get the opportunity to come out and showcase what we do, all handmade in Barbados,” Wilson said.

Following a tour of the location, Minister of Business and Energy Senator Lisa Cummins said she was pleased with the level of participation.

However, she urged more entrepreneurs to form partnerships as they seek to grow their operations “and do phenomenal things”.

“The reality of it is that very few large business people have gone at it alone. Many large successful businesses have co-investor partners. We at the small level also have to begin to accept that in order to scale and to scale-up the business models that we are pursuing and to become large enterprises we, too, also need co-investors and partnerships,” Cummins said.

She said this was necessary if they are to respond effectively to the supply chain challenges, costs concerns and other logistics-related matters they would not be able to overcome on their own.

Democratic Labour Party (DLP) President Dr Ronnie Yearwood also toured the event.

He described it as “brilliant” and said it showed support for the micro and small businesses here.

“Really, you can see here that the cooperative movement has an injection of young people. It is really heartwarming to see the young entrepreneurs out trying to ply their trade,” Yearwood said. (MM)