Business
BEF: Working to create create the new competitive Barbados
In 2012 BEF collaborated with many partners, sponsors and volunteers to deliver 5 key pillar missions:
In education-delivered the Secondary Schools $20 challenge and the Classroom to Boardroom Room challenge-over 500 students from 15 schools participated.
In Mentorship-developed and launched, in partnership with Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT), the Barbados on-line Mentorship website. This web portal provides mentorship support from registered volunteer experts at no cost to start-up businesses who need business advice.
In business facilitation-expanded free internet wi-fi access to 75 percent of the Barbados population with a vision, with government support, to get it to 100 percent in 2013.
In government policy-developed, with entrepreneurs and key stakeholders, an Entrepreneurship Charter to present to government as an urgent roadmap for the development of entrepreneurship in Barbados.
In finance-established, the Barbados Angel Investor Network and StartUp Barbados. An innovative active process to identify potential strong Start-Ups and to get funding for them. This is being done in collaboration with the Automotive Art Entrepreneurship Competition and the University of the West Indies. Over 30 successful entrepreneurs have agreed to join the initial network of Angel Investors.
We need key business facilitation government departments to embrace the BEF’s 2020 vision by incorporating that vision into their annual action plans and budgets for 2013 onwards.
