(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Five new companies commenced operations in St. Kitts on Thursday as part of the practical exercise of the Creativity for Employment and Business Opportunity (CEBO) training taking place in Sandy Point, St Kitts and Nevis this week.
The CEBO workshop is coordinated by the Department of Youth Empowerment in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat. The programme is a direct response to the findings of the CARICOM Commission of Youth Development (CCYD) which called for expanding opportunities for youth across the region to learn new skills in order to reduce high rates of youth unemployment.
As part of the requirements for successful completion of the training, the young participants have forged partnerships with peers who had similar business ideas; worked together to develop those ideas into a solid workable business plans; then presented the plans to a team of CARICOM Secretariat Staff and trainers who assumed the role of a funding agency for small business enterprises, in order to secure loans to start the business.
The participants in partnership with community members are now ready to offer a variety of products and services to the public.
Explosion Arts will design graphic arts for clients and also produce souvenir t-shirts promoting the St. Kitts-Nevis brand. Their catchy slogan “Kaboom, we express art in so many ways” sums up the business idea. They will operate from Mount Idle, Sandy Point. The second company, Fantasy Hair and Nails Salon, boasts “We are the best in what we do” and promises to deliver creative hair styles and unique nail designs. Patrons can find them at the Sandy Point Community Center.
The sale of drinks from locally grown crops including lemonade, ginger beer, soursop and carrots is the product of choice for Tropical Fresh which will be stationed at the Circus in downtown Basseterre. The final two companies, Lock Off, which is expanding the product offerings of a well established popular production studio in Sandy Point, as well as Sunshine Pastries and Local Drinks will offer food and beverage options. Both companies will have a presence in Sandy Point but will also have salespersons in Basseterre.
The start-up capital for the groups was provided by the Bank of CEBO. The various Chief Executive Officers lead their staff members to a meeting where they had to pitch their respective ideas to the credit team headed by Ian Richards with support from Dr. Hilary Brown and Anthonette July of the CARICOM Secretariat and Richard Berwick of Jamaica. All of the groups’ proposals were given a satisfactory rating and a loan of several hundred dollars was provided.
Dr. Brown commented that “In a very short space of time, some good business ideas have been developed by the young people in the workshop and we would like the people of St. Kitts to come out and support their efforts.”
Senior Youth Officer Pierre Liburd told SKNIS that it was important for the public to invest in the dreams of these aspiring entrepreneurs. He expressed satisfaction with the progress of the workshop and thanked the many partners for working with the Department.
CEBO is being piloted in Jamaica, Belize, Dominica, the Bahamas and St. Kitts and Nevis. A closing ceremony will be held on Friday, November 08, 2012 at 5 pm at the Sandy Point Community Center.
