High demand for tech start-up development programmes

There is a significant demand for programmes to help develop tech start-ups, according to Lisa Harding, Coordinator of MSME Development in the Technical Cooperation Division at the Caribbean Development Bank, who made the comment during the Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurship Programme (CTEP) Stakeholder’s Summit and Launch that was held at the Caribbean Development Bank yesterday morning.

“We are extremely heartened to hear that the first cohort, which was launched in December was met with such resounding success in terms of interest. To have 400 applications for our regional, virtual online incubator programme, I think is very significant and to me this signals demand and suggest that despite several national and regional initiatives, which are in place, there still remains unmet demand for this type of training, which I also suspect is based on the mode of delivery,” she said.

“I think more and more persons are seeking flexible learning platforms which CTEP affords.”

She expressed that while the Bank recognises that programmes like CTEP exists, there is still a number of remaining gaps that live in the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Harding highlighted that there was a need for a cross-setting multisectoral strategy, which would ensure that MSME owners had adequate access to finance, a suitable infrastructure in place, a capacity building to prioritise and institutions that supported entrepreneurs.

She noted that the CDB has, for over four decades, been supporting and investing in the development of MSME, and assured that they would continue to facilitate dialogue and investing in sustainable physical infrastructure development and service delivery to MSMEs.

She was pleased to announce that they launched the Creative and Cultural Industries Fund, which was a special purpose financing mechanism to support the development of the creative industries through the provision of grants and capacity building for creative entrepreneurs.

“While we have implemented these programmes in partnership with other stakeholders, I want to underscore that CDB and certainly programmes such as CTEP, cannot create and sustain an MSME development ecosystem alone and therefore your collective contributions are what will shape a sustainable future for MSME growth,” she said.