A Jamaican Christmas

I35 THE WEEKLY GLEANER | DECEMBER 10 - JANUARY 9, 2020 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | ADVERTISEMENT W HEN THE Community of Practice for Caribbean Immigrant Entrepreneurs (The CoP) and Magate Wildhorse Consulting began planning for BIDEM in October 2019, there were six major systemic barriers to tackle for unlocking entrepreneurial among Caribbean entrepreneurs, and for leveraging our enterprise for driving entrepreneurship results in diasporic markets. They are: ■ Lack of trust ■ Lack of access to capital ■ Significantly limited experience growing mainstream sized businesses ■ Entrepreneurial skills gap ■ Foreignness; and ■ Sparse networks. But there was also a seventh—the self-imposed challenge of poor cus- tomer service and lack of civility in doing business. We continue to advocate and bring actions for addressing image related barriers that are rooted in Caribbean origin, accent, colour, economics and location. Take advantage of the opportunities provided by Magate Wildhorse™ and The CoP™ for growing your businesses and networks, they are: 1) The virtual forum on acceler- ating Caribbean Trade at: CoP- BIDEMDiaspora Entrepreneurs’Forum – BIDEM, 2) Ongoing capacity building, trade, and networking through individual and institutional member- ship in The CoP. Entrepreneurs, aca- demia and trade support organizations are welcome to apply at: https://bidem. org/the-cop-membership-why-types/ BIDEM is a journey to change. The outcomes will contribute to the growth and development of Caribbean entre- preneurship as well as economic re- covery, improved outcomes in health, environment, nutrition, agriculture and trade. It focuses on nutraceuticals, ther- apeutics, ethnopharmacology and medical trials and will be delivered in partnership with UWI Mona, Jamaica and UWI Cave, Barbados. Mainstream and Diaspora investors and experts are invited to partner with us in delivering the intervention as well as for raising US $400- $600 hundred thousand for this shovel-ready initiative. Event Chair, Meegan Scott provided a recap of this year’s forum: Q) What is the biggest thing that came out of BIDEM this year? A) “I’d say, A big push-start for the commencement of BIDEM, a bridge connecting high impact Diaspora entrepreneurs to efficient Diasporic markets! More so, the ac- celeration of the crucial process for “Connecting the Roots, Building Networks Together for Profit and Purpose,” said Meegan Scott, event creator and conference chair. At the high-level, entrepreneurs received commitments of support from the governments of Canada and Jamaica. Mary Ng, Canada’s Minister of Small Business, acknowledged the deep rooted personal and eco- nomic ties between Canada and the Caribbean. “We are working to reduce trade barriers and to keep supply chains open. It is why conversations like these are important.”she said, in refer- ence to the Minister’s panel at BIDEM. Audley Shaw, Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment & Commerce - represented Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica at the event. He expressed appreciation for Diasporans and reinforced Jamaica’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurs. Mr. Shaw invited business leaders to collaborate with the Jamaican government and local businesses in an effort to bring a more structured approachand ex- pertise in helping Jamaica to lift its standards in production and services. He shared that Jamaica was aggres- sively pushing towards establishing its national IS and ISO 9000 programs, but noted that, “Jamaica has a lot of catching up to do”. John Tory, 65th Mayor of Toronto, gave his commitment to supporting Diaspora businesses. He thanked BIDEM for making himaware of the bar- riers faced by Caribbean entrepreneurs. The educational program received top ratings from attendees at the conference. Growth in networks and partnerships were achieved. Thirty-year veteran in USA Government contract- ing, Go-To-Guy Timberlake™, delivered two powerful workshops packed with actionable guides for driving near term business growth and financial results. Kittitian Diasporan, Simone Sherriff and Canada’s Delores Su - both officers of the Government of Canada, provided ‘how-to’ and resources for doing busi- ness with the Government of Canada. Attendees received information on leveraging the provisions by host coun- try governments - for profit and the sustainable development of Diaspora and home communities. CoP Board Member, Dr. Binzie Roy Davidson, founder of Uni Healthcare, Inc., in California, demonstrated the ‘how to’ of big business supporting small businesses by sponsoring two exhibitors for the event. Meegan Scott is a Jamaica-born strategic management consultant. She can be contacted at: magate. wildhorse@gmail.com Diaspora Entrepreneur Conference boosts networking Meegan Scott. CONTRIBUTED THE WE KLY GLEANER | DECEMBER 10 - DECEMBER 16, 20 | w w .jamaica-gleaner.com | CHRISTMA FEATURE THE WE KLY GLEANER | DECEMB R 10, 2020 - JANUA Y 9, 2021 | w .jamaica-gleaner.com | CHRISTMAS FEATURE “Connecting the Roots, Building Networks Together for Profit and Purpose.”