[dropcap]I[/dropcap]nvest Saint Lucia is launching an incubator programme to help assist local start-up businesses. Incubator programmes are designed to help small businesses get off the ground by providing them with the necessary support, both financial and technical. The announcement was made on June 21 at a press conference jointly convened by ISL and the Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce.
Natasha Edwin-Walcott, ISL’s manager for policy advocacy, says the support provided will come in the form of “a physical facility to incubate and accelerate incubates, providing mentorship with a robust policy framework to help support start-ups”.
She disclosed that following ISL’s call to the public in January to indicate interest in the programme, some forty businesses had reacted positively.
Jodi Boodhoo, Invest Saint Lucia’s deputy chairman, said an incubator programme is needed, now more than ever, “thanks in part to vertical integration taking place across many sectors”.
Vertical integration describes a company’s control over several or all of the production and/or distribution steps involved in the creation of its product or service. For instance, a food manufacturer and a chain of supermarkets in the supply chain merging together.
The programmme will involve two stages. The first will be the incubation stage, where concepts from businesses will be nurtured, after which will be the accelerator stage where assistance is focused on scalability. Scalability means that a business is prepared to handle an increasing number of customers, clients, and/or users.
The ultimate goal, Mr. Boodhoo revealed, is to “create a network of avenues so Saint Lucian businesses can touch Europe, the US and Canada”.
Through the Chamber of Commerce, Saint Lucia hosted the Get in the Ring selection event on March 21. Patrick Eze, CEO of Eze Green Energy Company, and Denell Florius, co-founder of EcoCarib, emerged as the winners. Both travelled to Portugal for the Global Start-up competition. Despite not placing in the final round of the event, the chamber’s executive director Angella Joseph is glad “they were able to network, and share experiences with like-minded individuals”.
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