Participants in the Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation (BEF) Community Challenge programme are one step closer to accessing needed finance as they seek to either launch or grow their operations.
This year’s programme, which began in July, has been providing valuable hand-holding for the current cohort of almost two dozen entrepreneurs, as BEF officials continue to promote and support entrepreneurship in Barbados.
Chairperson of the BEF Celeste Foster told Barbados TODAY she was pleased with the participation so far, as she looked forward to the judging component scheduled for October 21, 2023 at the Sky Mall location.
“Our programme is to break down some of the barriers. Access to finance is a real barrier for most small businesses. So they get a $250 loan on the strength of being in the programme. These loans come through the Barbados Workers’ Union Cooperative Credit Union, the Trust Fund, as well as FundAccess,” said Foster.
“They are then to access funding and build out a relationship with those organisations just by being in our programme. So they don’t have to look for some of that paper work, they don’t have to be vouched for; just being in our programme opens the access to finance for them.”
The entrepreneurs will also be presented with several other prizes including technical assistance, market opportunities and books. They will be treated to a special award ceremony in March next year.
Foster said participants have described the programme as life-changing, with some of them expressing that they better understand the research needed in order to bring a viable product or service to market.
“So it cuts out bringing something and not being sure. Others have been able to refine the three or four ideas such that they have a market ready product. Some people were able to understand that the product they were bringing there was really no market for it. So they are able now to put their business through scrutiny to see if they can stand up to being sustainable,” she said.
Some 20 businesses are expected to take part in a market exercise at Sky Mall between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on October 21, at which time they will be judged. Foster explained that the upcoming market day was intended to test the entrepreneurs’ market readiness and to see if they were putting what they have learned into practice.
“It is a very practical hand-holding opportunity for these businesses to test their knowledge, test their skills and get feedback in a safe environment,” she said.
The first phase of the programme included the exploration of business concepts and how to set up a business. The aspiring business owners also received training in several areas, including marketing, financing, and mental health and wellness.
“Our programme focuses on very practical learning. So it is not only about academic learning. This year, one of the things we would have done is that after they have gone through the academic learning, they had one-on-one coaching sessions, because what we have found is that sometimes businesses find it hard to take general information and to personalise it for themselves,” explained Foster.
For last year’s programme, which was only open to individuals under 35 years old, 12 businesses graduated. Ten of them are still operating.
“Last year, it was more group learning. This year we introduced one-on-one business coaching and we did the mid-market assessment,” said Foster.
Some of the products to be on offer on Saturday, October 21, will range from animal care, including a dog shampoo and soap; educational materials; and pre-cooked meals for people with an extremely busy lifestyle.
The partners of the Community Challenge programme include the Barbados Trust Fund Limited, the Barbados Workers Union Cooperative Credit Union, City of Bridgetown Cooperative Credit Union, Clarity Media, FundAccess, Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management, SkyMall, Scotiabank, Trident 10 TV and the UWI Giveback Programme. (MM)
