OECS and Republic Bank Select Caribbean's Top 30 Entrepreneurs For Inaugural Business Model Competition

OECS Media Statement

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission and Republic Bank Group successfully launched the Sustainable Development Movement (SDM) Business Model Competition on Friday, July 10th 2020.

The virtual launch featured the grand reveal of the top 30 entrepreneurs selected to participate in the inaugural SDM Business Model Competition. The chosen entrepreneurs were selected from a cohort of 170 applicants from across the region.

Dr. Didacus Jules, Director General of the OECS, highlighted the value of the Business Model Competition, as an integral part of the Sustainable Development Movement, and stressed the importance of ideas and innovative thinking as Caribbean entrepreneurs position themselves as major players in the development of the region.

“Ideas matter, because an idea is a seed that can grow change in our world. The genius of an idea ultimately lies, not in its conception but in its execution and in the legacy that it leaves. ​ We anticipate that the Sustainable Development Movement will create that legacy.”
“The Sustainable Development Movement 2020 is a different answer to an old complex challenge. Resources are scarce but the problem is not money – but imagination. If you deeply desire and desperately need something you will find the road to your aspiration. A key answer to the challenge, therefore, is the mind shift. Changing our perspective from the subordination of our limitations to the appreciation of our possibilities.”

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Michelle Palmer Keizer, Managing Director of Republic Bank (EC) Limited, welcomed the opportunity to support the Business Model Competition initiative which, she noted, is in keeping with the bank’s well established focus on small businesses.

“[Investment in Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises] was a priority for us when times were better and it is more so now in these times of challenge and opportunity.”
“We are extremely excited to once again commit our resources to such a worthwhile initiative. We are eager to help shape the future,” Palmer-Keizer said.
Managing Director of Republic Bank (EC) Limited, Michelle Palmer-Keizer, officially hands over the title sponsorship cheque to OECS Director General, Dr. Didacus Jules
Managing Director of Republic Bank (EC) Limited, Michelle Palmer-Keizer, officially hands over the title sponsorship cheque to OECS Director General, Dr. Didacus Jules

 

A highlight of the two-hour launch was the keynote address by Paul Ahlstrom, Managing Director and Co-founder of Alta Ventures and Alta Growth Capital. 

Ahlstrom provided real life experiences and advice from his over 30 year career as a venture-backed entrepreneur and as an investor. He implored participants to “create a compelling story” and “fall in love with the problem, not [the] product.” 

“If you fall in love with the problem, that creates a compass for you to go create a great product. If you fall in love with [the] product, you are blinded to feedback and you can’t see the world clearly."

Throughout his career, Paul Ahlstrom has raised over $1 billion and directly invested over $500 million in more than one hundred and twenty-five startup companies.

The OECS Republic Bank Business Model Competition forms part of the OECS Commission’s Sustainable Development Movement (SDM) Conference – a two-day event expected to attract over 3000 delegates from across the Caribbean Region and internationally to meet and exchange thoughts, best practices, untold stories and strategies concerning sustainable growth and development on September 23-24, 2020 in Saint Lucia.

The 30 high-growth potential Caribbean entrepreneurs will embark on a journey of capacity building and networking via integration into a virtual network of business development support.

Selected entrepreneurs will also compete for sectional prizes of up to US$20,000.00 and have the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a panel of investors led by Mr. Daymond John, Star of ABC’s Shark Tank, and President of the Shark Group. 


Meet the Business Model Competition Entrepreneurs:

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The OECS Republic Bank Business Model Competition is a feature of the Sustainable Development Movement scheduled for September 23-24, 2020. Click the image above to learn more about the #Movement and register.
The OECS Republic Bank Business Model Competition is a feature of the Sustainable Development Movement scheduled for September 23-24, 2020. Click the image above to learn more about the #Movement and register.

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Contact Us

Nadege Jn Baptiste

OECS Commission, Morne Fortune, Castries, Saint Lucia

Business Model Competition | OECS Commission

Morne Fortune, Castries, Saint Lucia

 

 

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About The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

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The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an International Organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance among independent and non-independent countries in the Eastern Caribbean. The OECS came into being on June 18th 1981, when seven Eastern Caribbean countries signed a treaty agreeing to cooperate with each other while promoting unity and solidarity among its Members. The Treaty became known as the Treaty of Basseterre, so named in honour of the capital city of St. Kitts and Nevis where it was signed. The OECS today, currently has eleven members, spread across the Eastern Caribbean comprising Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Martinique and Guadeloupe. 

Contact

Morne Fortune Castries Saint Lucia

+1758-455-6377

media@oecs.int

www.oecs.int