On December 02, 2016 at the Teachers’ Resource Centre- the Valley Anguilla, The Department of Youth and Culture in partnership with Catapulted Conference hosted the annual Entrepreneur Expo. The main purpose of the event was to display and promote the ideas and businesses of young entrepreneurs on Anguilla, who are clients of the Anguilla GET SET Entrepreneurial Programme.
The Anguilla GET SET Entrepreneurial Programme targets young people living in Anguilla between the age of 18-35 years who are desirous of owning their own business or receiving financial assistance towards an existing business. The programme is made possible through the support of the Government of Anguilla (Department of Youth and Culture). The programme is designed to create a culture of entrepreneurship in Anguilla among young people and to facilitate the establishment of youth run businesses on Anguilla.
Entrepreneur Expo 2016 was chaired by the Senior Programme Officer (Youth Development), Ms. Joleyne Robin. As part of the programme a variety of stakeholders and local entrepreneurs offered remarks/words of advice and encouragement to the young entrepreneurs. The Director of the Department of Youth and Culture, Mr. Bren Romney, delivered remarks on behalf of the Hon. Minister of Youth Affairs (Mr. Evans McNeil Rogers) who was unable to attend.
During his remarks the Director urged all young people living in Anguilla to take full advantage of the opportunities including the GET SET Entrepreneurial Programme which are available to them via the Department of Youth and Culture.
The Feature Address was delivered by Mr. Austin “Bennie” Connor who is a local entrepreneur and businessman. As part of his remarks, Mr. Connor reminded the young entrepreneurs of the importance of business ethics and the importance of making a positive first impression, he stated “remember you never get a second chance to make a first good impression’.
Awards were presented as follows:
The entrepreneurs made visual and oral presentations to a panel of judges who were present at the event. All of the Awards presented in this segment were sponsored by Digicel (Anguilla). The judges for this segment were Mrs. Althea Hodge (Director of the Anguilla Development Board), Mr. Kenroy Herbert (Owner of Leviticus Lifestyle and Travel) and Mr. Daryl Thompson (Manager and Creative Designer of Alloyds Enterprise) the winners of the various segments were:
New Entrepreneur Award – Mr. Jibri Lewis and Keanu Belle joint owners of Affix
Best Business Display Award – Mrs. Njeri Richardson-Carty, owner of Branches of Learning
Most Original Business Idea Awards – Mrs. Njeri Richardson-Carty, owner of Branches of Learning
For the first time since the inception of the Entrepreneur Expo, three additional awards were added. They are the Business Plan Innovation Award which is a contribution of XCD$5000.00 towards the award recipient, this award was sponsored by The Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and additionally, 2 Merit Awards which were sponsored by The Government of Anguilla in the amount of XCD$1000.00 each. The funds received should be used towards the development of the winning businesses.
The winners of the awards were selected by the Credit Sub-Committee of the Anguilla GET SET Entrepreneurial Programme. The winners of this segment were:
Business Plan Innovation Award – Mrs. Njeri Richardson Carty owner of Branches of Learning
Merit Award – Mrs. Twyla Richardson and Ms. Latoya Scarbro of Confetti Dust Studio
Merit Award – Ms. Shanicia Richardson of Golden Eggs Farm
Other participants in this year’s Expo are listed below:
Ms. Melissa Hamm, owner of Artsy Crafter
Ms. Roshima Parker, owner of Royal Party Rentals
Mr. Darren Lewis, owner of Just Imagine (local jewelry and craft supplies)
Ms. Melisse Jennings, owner of Event in a Box
Ms. Donnilia Reid, swimsuit and fashion designer
Ms. Tamika Richardson, owner of Busy Bee Concierge Services
The Department of Youth and Culture, Youth Affairs Division would like to express gratitude to everyone who attended the event and look forward to your support in the upcoming Business Symposium which is schedule to be held on April 08th, 2017.
-Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
