Lashley: Take advantage of CARIFESTA

Entrepreneurs must be poised to take advantage of the ben-efits to be gained by participating in next year’s CARIFESTA.

 

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Stephen Lashley, said that the upcoming 10-day festival would present these individuals with a chance to promote their offerings of services and goods to the rest of the world.

 

Speaking at the media launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Week at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill’s School of Business on Friday, he told those gathered to consider how business and entrepreneurs will respond to the opportunity of CARIFESTA.

 

In fact, he insisted that the creative industry now had to be leaned on more to drive economy development in the island, and suggested therefore that chances provided by events such as CARIFESTA could not be ignored.

 

“This event is not just another CARIFESTA. It focuses on the empowerment of men and women through the creation of business ideas that can be transformed into products and services the rest of the world wants,” he said.

 

Lashley outlined that today’s business persons must have focus on sustainability in order for their companies to be successful.

 

“If Barbadian businesses are to become competitive and grow, their owners need to step outside of the traditional paradigms of business development and not only look for good opportunities, but also think about social problems that that can be solved and develop new business models as they do so,” he said.

 

Furthermore, the minister highlighted that social issues have the potential to create new markets and the socially minded enterprises that emerge can be a source of potential investment, adding that many consumers today are looking for safe, reliable, high-value products which have utility and they are willing to pay a premium for them.

 

“We need strong indigenous businesses to create a more vibrant economy,” he asserted. (JMB)