B’dos needs to develop an entrepreneurial culture

We must strive to develop and sustain a culture in our Caribbean societies that encourages our citizens to take risk in business.

That is according to Donville Inniss, Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development.

While speaking at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre at the Ten Habitat Caribbean Start up Summit, he explained what he thought were some of the key attributes of an entrepreneur. He said, “One needs to be a risk-taker, think and act outside of the box, be a visionary, be bold, global in your outlook, confident and a positive thinker.”
He further pointed out that, “Banks are risk averse, but I would like to see a stronger culture of banks in the Caribbean partnering with entrepreneurs... Banks in the region can loosen up a bit and help grow the entrepreneurial class in Barbados and the wider Caribbean and we do understand they have to make profits... [In addition] new forms of financing are also moving a bit too slow to take off in Barbados and the Caribbean, we are still depending on traditional bank financing, and we must look at other form of financing available out there.”

Inniss also reiterated, we are still too quick to condemn those who in society have failed or made mistakes in business. “We cannot foster a culture of entrepreneurship if we are not prepared to help those who are trying, even if they have failed,” Inniss warned.

The Minister added, “In the public sector we recognise there is an opportunity for us to be innovative and entrepreneurial in our own way and foster that culture of entrepreneurship. Public officers we need to appreciate our actions’ impact on the work of entrepreneurs… I don’t think there is enough cross fertilisation between public and private sector. Those in the public sector sit and say these are the rules and regulations, but it is important we understand what the private sector is trying to do and that business facilitation is important and that their duties need to be handled in a timely fashion. We can only grow our economy in a sustainable manner if the public sector develops partnerships with the private sector and foster an ecosystem that allows entrepreneurship to grow.” (NB)