Anthony Joseph, Publisher-Editor of The Caribbean Camera has stressed the need for entrepreneurs in Caribbean Community to increase their presence among the ranks of strong Canadian companies.  Joseph also spoke of the need for the community to participate in and support events such as Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) with same enthusiasm as they do at carnivals and fetes.

He was speaking at the “Focused for Growth” Workshop series held at Windies Restaurant and Sports Bar in celebration of GEW last week. The Event was sponsored

by Magate Wildhorse Ltd, The Caribbean Camera and Windies Restaurant and Sports Bar in collaboration with Valerie MacLeod of the Haines Centre for Strategic Management.

Workshop participants said they “felt joy, encouraged and informed about how to prepare for leading the growth of their businesses at the end of the session”.

Fallon Batchelor of Ocean Flame Communications was among the participants who thought the event was “excellent”.  Joseph also thought the workshop was excellent and have committed to being an event sponsor and partner for an even bigger event next year.

“WIN – What’s Important Now” and the Mindset of the entrepreneur, shared in Valerie MacLeod’s session on the Entrepreneur and the DNA of the Canadian entrepreneur were big take-a-ways for most.

Participants were also heartened to know that they did not need to be shy in asking for payment for their work.

What it means to focus for Growth? Having the answer rooted in Peter Drucker’s quote “Base your strategy on the situation and not a formula”, served as a source of reassurance to entrepreneurs.

The eye to eye process for measuring customer feedback and how-to scale were also big take-a-ways for participants in the session.

Eileen Elliston’s presentation on “Small Business Income Risk and Protection” was also well received. 

Canada celebrated GEW with the Caribbeans this year. Among the events were “Views on the News” in The Caribbean Camera; “Focused for Growth – the Entrepreneur”, presented by Dr. Marcia Brandon of GEN Caribbean; the Fintech: Access to Finance and Alternative Financing by Telly Onu of St. Kitts. The Fintech webinar as well as the “Focused for Growth —the Entrepreneur”, both the Caribbean and Canadian perspectives are available on https://www.facebook.com/MagateWildhorse.

Several events were hosted throughout the Caribbean for celebrating GEW. One of the activities held in Jamaica, was the workshop entitled “Unleashing Ideas”, hosted by the Junior Achievement Jamaica and Junior Achievement Company of Entrepreneurs(JACE) along with their partners for students participating in the JACE Programme.  Over 200 JACE Programme participants attended the event.  In addition to the workshop they hosted a Huddle Start-up.  Several events were held in other islands including “Elevate Your Earnings” in St. Kitts. The Small Enterprise Development Unit (SEDU) in the Ministry of Finance on Nevis also celebrated with a workshop and reception.

According to the Kauffman Foundation, Global Entrepreneurship Week is “The world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth, and expand human welfare”. According to the Kauffman Foundation approximately 25 million individuals are empowered by GEW each year.

During the Week the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) leads the global community in coming together to celebrate, understand, support and connect entrepreneurs and those who champion them. While GEW is celebrated once per year, GEN provides the channel through which year-round initiatives are held with the aim of creating “one global entrepreneurial ecosystem”, says GEN.

Their work ranges from inspiring and educating start-up entrepreneurs to research and the connection of global leaders into the shared entrepreneurial ecosystem. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is made up of entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, educators and programmatic researchers.

This year ten million (10M) people participated in 35,000 events in 170 countries, the figures reported are in keeping with those published on the GEN web site. Canada hosted 193 events and registered 33 partners. Futurprenuer (The official country host), Ryerson University, The Caribbean Camera, Magate Wildhorse and Windies Restaurant and the University of Toronto were among the entities that celebrated GEW Canada 2017. It is also the year when GEW celebrates its 10^th Anniversary.

Sir Richard Branson opened the Week by participating in the launch of the GENStartup Campus in South Africa.

In 2018, Global Entrepreneurship Week will be hosted November 12 to 18. Magate Wildhorse and The Caribbean Camera are committed to supporting and celebrating Canadian and Caribbean Entrepreneurs. Together we will host other learning opportunities leading up to GEW 2018.  You are invited to stay connected @magatewildhorse, Magate Wildhorse on Facebook and @thecaribbeancamera for updates.