Barbados Celebrates Entrepreneurship
Barbados joins 125 countries around the world to mark Global Entrepreneurship Week from November 11th to 17th, 2012. Global Entrepreneurship Week is meant to celebrate innovative business people like Brett Callaghan the founder of Totally Barbados dot com.
Mr. Callaghan retired from a successful career as a jockey and pursued his dream of developing the website of choice for information on Barbados.
Seven (7) years and several global awards later he has accomplished his goal and is living his dream.
His story exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit that is recognized and saluted during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2012. It is regarded as one of the main highways back to economic growth at this time when many countries are struggling to emerge from the grip of the worst recession in decades.
Entrepreneurship has special meaning for the Caribbean island of Barbados, which is pursuing the enviable but ambitious goal of being the entrepreneurial hub of the world by 2020.
The Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT) organized a week of activities to mark Global Entrepreneurship Week 2012.
These included presentations to preschoolers, class one students and teachers to motivate and encourage a spirit of entrepreneurship; a discussion forum for aspiring entrepreneurs and a showcasing of some of the best local products on the market.
The activities were undertaken in association with several BYBT partners, among them were the Barbados Manufacturers’ Association, the Caribbean Development Bank, CIBC First Caribbean International Bank and the Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation (BEF).
The BEF is the non-governmental organization behind the move to make Barbados the world’s entrepreneurial hub within the next eight years.
It is spearheading one of the biggest events planned for the week – The Third National Entrepreneurship Summit at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on November 16.
The headliners for the summit include Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE DL, actress, writer, independent producer and member of The House of Lords, who will give a motivational presentation.
Alex Mackenzie, principal strategy consultant at McKinney Rogers will speak on the topic Strategy Execution, while Roxanne Hercules, US Customer and Border Protection, will examine strategies for internationalization.
Several other business leaders and successful entrepreneurs are also expected to be in the spotlight.
The BEF is also involved in another entrepreneurship conference billed as the ‘treppinOut:Unconference.’
This four-hour event will be held on November 17th, 2012 at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill School of Business.
According to the organizers, it is “intended to foster networking and creative thought surrounding entrepreneurship”.
The format is decidedly different.
“The major difference is that there are no designated speakers or panel of experts. Any participant can initiate and lead a discussion on a topic of which they have some expertise” explained event coordinator Corey McClean.
“This learning approach has been growing in popularity within the technology and creative sectors throughout the United States and Europe over the past few years.”
Global Entrepreneurship Week is the world’s largest celebration of innovators and job creators. They are the people who launch startups and bring ideas to life, driving economic growth and expanding human welfare in the process.
The initiative continues to attract and engage high-profile entrepreneurs who are enthusiastic to share their personal experiences and insights.
Some of the renowned entrepreneurs who have embraced and supported the week of activities in the past include aviation tycoon Richard Branson and technology guru Michael Dell.
Additional Information:
November 12th, 2012
