Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 25, 2015: An exhibition of various products and services by young entrepreneurs, an idea pitching competition, and an energetic display from local performing artistes brought a fitting close to Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) celebrations in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The event, dubbed “Exposure,” was held on Saturday (November 22) at the Old Girl’s School in Basseterre and attracted participation from KR Architectural Services, Digital Performing Arts Production, Divine Warrior Graphics, Blue Torch Productions, CleanRite, Yaphene and more.Members of the public learnt quite a bit about the companies, most of which are new, as they visited the booths on display. Some brought their children along to enjoy the face painting and balloon twisting of the Dazzle Me staff, while the Celebration City bouncing castle and other family-friendly amenities helped to ensure an afternoon of family fun.Exposure also was welcomed by the new businesses.
Kerissa Roberts, 22, owner of KR Architectural Services, said the event was a good one and she hoped to see a similar activity held every quarter, not just during GEW which was observed worldwide from November 16 to 22 this year.“It’s always good to recognize and big up entrepreneurs as young as we are, just to let people know that there are some people who are willing and fearless to take the initiative and open their own business,” Roberts said.
Ja-Ves Charles, 18, of Digital Performing Arts Production takes pride in filming the moves of dancers as they perform cultural and other types of dance. He also cuts music and does so fairly regularly for the CFBC Dance Ensemble. The young man said he had positive interactions at the event.
“The experience was thrilling,” he said. “It was really good for me to get my business out there to the public in that it can help me attract clients and grow the company.”“Exposure” was made even more memorable as it featured two companies from Barbados.
Celestial Glow and Spiralescent were formed by students at the Barbados Community College.
The groups won the UNDP’s Caribbean Energy Efficient Lighting Competition, which awarded them with a three-day trip to St. Kitts so that they can get a sense of how procedures were in another countries. Also exhibiting was Yaphene, a company which produces organic body care products made primarily from local ingredients. Its owner, Anastasia Elliott, also participated in the pitch competition which featured entrepreneurs providing a synopsis of their company details including growth projections. Heidi Fagerberg with her book project “Plant A Seed” and Ariel Peets and Joseph Stanley of Gyver Technical Services also pitched for the $5000 investment.
Yaphene was adjudged the winner. “Exposure” concluded with entertainment by local groups and individuals featuring poetry, rapping, singing and dancing.“It was a tremendous success,” explained Ervin Welsh, the founder of Positively Inclined and co-host of the GEW events in St. Kitts and Nevis. “All exhibitors came with an extremely high quality representation of themselves, one which didn’t go unnoticed and one which suggests we will be hearing more about these businesses in the not too distant future.”
Other activities held included a Breakfast Meeting for entrepreneurs and public and private sector stakeholders on November 17, a presentation on Using Facebook for Business on November 17 (on St. Kitts) and 18 (on Nevis) and a Social Mixer on November 20. “We intend to build on this success. Considering the high degree of stakeholder participation this year and the positive feedback we received we are eagerly looking forward to even greater collaboration and a continually improving product, starting with next year’s events. We must say a special thank you the FND Credit Union and the St. Kitts Investment Promotion Agency without which this week would not have been possible,” Welsh said.
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 winner of the Idea Pitiching Competition accepting her prize.jpg)
