Barbados has many entrepreneurs, including women, celebrities and young adults, who participate at a high rate. The government sees the benefits of taking an active role in developing the entrepreneurial landscape in order to foster greater economic development. Because of this support, Barbados has a high level of early-stage entrepreneurial activity for a small island state.
Barbados has produced entrepreneurs who excel in health, hospitality, music, technology, tourism, wellness and many other fields. Its entrepreneurs include Shelly Williams, CEO and founder of Barbados Platinum Services; Kim Hamblin, co-founder of Yelluh Meat; and Renée Coppin, owner of Pirate's Inn and Infinity on the Beach. In addition, the international pop star Rihanna, who is from Barbados, has launched several successful ventures.
Barbados has a strong entrepreneurship ecosystem, those people and institutions that support, fund, and promote new businesses in their community. But how to support entrepreneurship remains contentious. Given that entrepreneurship is a difficult to define, we must focus on a holistic support model that involves the entrepreneur, innovation, organization creation, creating value, growth, uniqueness and management skills.
Looking at Barbados’ ecosystem, gaps can be mapped to areas that are underdeveloped, which include:
- Innovation and Uniqueness – Although our education system is one of the best in the region, it does not foster innovative thinking in entrepreneurship. We therefore end up with many duplicated ideas and businesses, as is evident from the lack of a sophisticated manufacturing sector and a high “buy and sell back” culture.
- Organization Creation – Entrepreneurship support programs for people interested in starting businesses are insufficient. Programs tend to end after business training is completed and do not offer sufficient follow-up support to entrepreneurs as they start and scale their businesses.
- Creating Value – A few problems hinder the creation of value such as scarcity mindsets, economic constraints, logistics, legislation and public policy. Meeting the needs of entrepreneurs requires strong coordination across the private, public, and civil-society sectors. Forging partnerships among stakeholders is key to providing comprehensive business support programs (including technical and life skills training, mentoring, financing, and MSME Policy). The ease of doing business must improve and we must encourage greater investment in key sectors.
- Managerial Skills – Although many entities offer business training, most do not see value in becoming proficient in leadership and management and therefore treat it as an academic exercise. This ties back to the need for a learning mindset.
- Growth – Because growth is a key pillar of entrepreneurship, we must adopt an intentional approach to it. This will assist in managing development for entrepreneurs and Barbados’ overall economy.
Government funded programs support new founders when they start a business by providing training and guidance to build skills needed to grow a business. Funding entities support small businesses that can demonstrate the likely success of their ventures. Business support organizations create an enabling environment for entrepreneurs in Barbados by developing an entrepreneurial mindset needed to support business formation and development.
According to Dr. Basil Springer, Barbados can lead the way in establishing an innovative startup ecosystem that would “capitalize startups” with minimal financial delays in getting the startups off the ground”, “grow startups aggressively” and provide “an exit strategy for the fund so that entrepreneurs reclaim 100 percent ownership as soon as cash flows permit.” See, www.nothingbeatsbusiness.com
Entrepreneur Support Organizations
In addition to organizing the Entrepreneurship World Cup in Barbados, the Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT) provides start-up capital, business mentoring, networking, advisory services, and marketing support. BYBT has mapped out a process to help entrepreneurs from idea stage to exit. They help founders chart a path to reach and fund their goals, connect with other entrepreneurs, and receive ongoing business services support.
BYBT provides specialized coaching and mentoring that is designed to establish metrics and take business growth to the next level. Face-to-face meetings and online sessions include initial business assessments, ongoing training, consistent monitoring support and a holistic approach to business development. In addition, BYBT’s in-house branding and marketing experts conduct instructive clinics, provide hands-on assistance and offer consultations on raising brand visibility and building public trust. To help entrepreneurs navigate complex legal and operational challenges, BYBT provides expert advice and actionable solutions.
Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation (BEF) provides seed capital, training, and mentorship to participants in their US $20 Challenge. BEF has pulled together a group of angel investors as a means of facilitating financing for new businesses. BEF’s $20 Challenge has introduced hundreds of students to the idea of entrepreneurship.
The creation of safe spaces within which to build relationships is critical to sustainable entrepreneurial culture, BEF has fostered opportunities for entrepreneurs to provide and receive support in the form of networking, mentorship and access to expert advice and services. These include mentorship mingles, workshops, breakout sessions, and knowledge/resource pools. In addition, BEF has worked with professional service providers to ensure that Barbados entrepreneurs have access to affordable legal and other business facilitation services.
BEF has also actively engaged with policy makers and other related agencies to ensure that the regulatory environment facilitates new business formation and growth. BEF’s Charter for Entrepreneurship sets out specific initiatives that the government could undertake in the areas of finance, education, legislative and business regulations.
