Nassau, The Bahamas - September 21st, 2022 By Chester Robards

As the Access Accelerator/Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) marked its fourth anniversary yesterday, it did so by forming a partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs to launch a sustainable food growth grant with sums up to $50,000, Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs Clay Sweeting announced yesterday. Sweeting said the grant program, which totals $1 million, will be a “game-changing incentive for food production in The Bahamas”. Since his appointment to the ministry, Sweeting has heralded the need for the country to feed itself and greatly decrease the $1 billion the country spends on food imports each year. “As you would recall, during the budget debate earlier this year, it was announced that food production would be a top priority for the Davis administration,” said Sweeting. “We announced that over $1 million would be allocated for grants for fishers and farmers to advance food production in our country, and 30 percent of those funds would be available for poultry farming. “We know that we face the threats of external forces such as shipping challenges, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, ballooning inflation and not to mention that we remain in a global pandemic. But all is not lost. The Davis administration recognizes the need to incentivize food production in our country.” Sweeting called for quick action on food production and contended that the grant program, which will be run by the SBDC, is for farmers, fishers, food producers and agribusiness practitioners. “These funds can be used to make purchases such as construction services, equipment, insurance, furniture, heavy duty vehicles, supplies and much more,” he said. “Through this grant, successful applicants will also have access to virtual training that will help their businesses to thrive. They will get the necessary training on food security, emerging trends, post-harvest management, financial reporting and export potential. This grant will help us to make a transformational shift towards obtaining food security in our country. The Bahamas is not living up to its full potential in food production.” SBDC Interim Executive Director Samantha Rolle said in a press statement on the grant program that the strategic partnership with the ministry is how The Bahamas will make inroads in the fight against food insecurity. “The Sustainable Food Growth Grant is a holistic initiative to foster value to our economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainability,” said Rolle. The statement added: “In order to be eligible for the grant, applicants must offer products and services that comply with SBDC’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) policy; employ less than 50 individuals; be 100 per cent Bahamian-owned and provide all required documents.” Grant said more than 2,000 businesses have been funded through the SBDC, to the tune of more than $70 million in its four years in operation. Article Source: www.thenassauguardian.com

Nassau, The Bahamas - From children’s books to artisan ice cream to designer handbags, wine and skin care products, Access Accelerator’s Global Business Pitch competition, held earlier this week, brought together a diverse group of Bahamian entrepreneurs full of fresh ideas and the hope of winning a $7,500 prize donated by Simplified Lending.

Kendrick Delaney, who wrote the children’s book, Ferry’s Tale of Pig Island, ultimately came out on top in the Tuesday-night event, convincing the judges that his idea was both unique and scalable.

Wayne Moncur, from artisan ice cream shop, Mudda Freeze, won the second-place spot and a three-night vacation stay in a two-bed luxury villa at Grand Isle Resort & Spa in Exuma.

Aidan Barrow, owner of luxury gift and souvenir store, Haus of Assembly, placed third.

Simplified Lending Founder and CEO Robert Pantry, who was one of the judges, said he believed Delaney thoroughly demonstrated the viability of his product.

“I think for me, what stood out is that it's local to the Bahamas, it’s a book that can be exported,” said Pantry.

“The fact that he was already selling on Amazon shows that there's a demand for it. It is viable, it’s portable and it’s scalable.”

Delaney is no stranger to startups, having already successfully started and grown The New Duff, which was also partially funded by Access Accelerator.

Noting that funding is a persistent challenge for Bahamian entrepreneurs, Delaney said Access Accelerator is changing the dynamic.

“This opportunity by the Small Business Development Centre and Simplified Lending really was a chance for me to make my dreams come true in a way, simply because book publishing, in particular, is very expensive,” he said.

Having already sold hundreds of copies of Ferry’s Tale of Pig Island, which is available in stores across New Providence and on Amazon and Etsy, Delaney said he plans to use his prize money to increase his marketing and overseas distribution.

“A large part of my mission with Ferry’s Tale, although it seems like just a children’s book, is actually about finding clever ways to enchant foreigners and visitors to always visit The Bahamas and see us as a very magical place,” he said.

 And Delaney said he believes storytelling is one of the best ways to accomplish that.

Referring to his childhood love of the Swiss Family Robinson, Delaney said that by the time he visited Disney World, he was so thoroughly enamoured with the book that the Robinson family’s treehouse was the highlight of his trip.

“Similarly, with swimming pigs, I believe that it's such a world-famous tourism product that we need to not only protect the pigs and make sure that we are treating them safely and sustainably, but also tell the story on how those pigs first got swimming,” said Delaney. “I wanted to create the legend around the swimming pigs for The Bahamas.”

And though he was ecstatic to have secured funding for his project, Delaney said there was no shortage of promising pitches on Tuesday night.

 "Some people may think that The Bahamas doesn't have a ton of talented, talented, young entrepreneurs, but I actually think that's far from the truth,” he said.

“I think that there's a tremendous number of Bahamians out there with incredible ideas and skills and the hard work it takes to kind of build a brand."

“Haus of Assembly, Mudda Freeze, Believe Wines and all the others that competed with me, when I look at those brands, not only are they completely polished and world-class brands, but I saw that any one of us could have really won that prize money.”

Samantha L. Rolle, Interim Executive Director of Access Accelerator, Small Business Development Centre, said the organization is committed to helping small businesses gain exposure and enhance their skills.

"We pride ourselves on living up to our mandate of accelerating access,” she said.

“Through the Summer Entrepreneurial Training (S.E.T.) series, we've been intentional with our focus on enhancing one's business acumen through entrepreneurial education and opportunities like the pitch competition that expand on those lessons.

“We see these pitch competitions as an opportunity for Bahamian small business owners to gain exposure to investors and the competitive nature of raising capital.”

Pantry, who commended Access Accelerator for the well-organized event, said opportunities like the pitch competition are not only important for entrepreneurs, but also for the Bahamian economy at large.

“It really supports the entrepreneurs in the country, small and medium-sized businesses, the lifeblood of this country,” he said. ,

“So, it's a way to help the entrepreneurs but also help the country’s economy by supporting small and medium sized businesses. It also exposes the participants not only to the prize, but it also exposes them to angel investors.”

Delaney said he is hopeful that there will be a continued effort to support new businesses in The Bahamas.

“For me, I've been really hoping that the government does more of these things to create not just these one-off grants, but to spark a whole culture of entrepreneurship, because I believe the rest of the Caribbean is doing that, the rest of the world certainly doing that, and The Bahamas shouldn't be left behind,” he said.

“So, I'm really happy that the Small Business Development Centre is there as well as their partners like Simplified Lending, who are really helping to create a culture of entrepreneurship in the Bahamas.”

Nassau, The Bahamas - Access Accelerator's Summer Entrepreneurial Training & Mentorship (S.E.T.) series kicked off its first of three pitch nights in grand style awarding $25,000 in cash prizes to small business owners of the country.

Modeled after the television show Shark Tank, the Innovative Business Pitch Competition featured six Bahamian entrepreneurs of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) presenting their innovative concepts to a panel of judges and a room full of business leaders, mentors and spectators.

 Held on August 2nd, 2022, the competitors were given five minutes to demonstrate how their small business relies on unique products, services, processes, platforms or channels to gain a competitive advantage, create multiple revenue streams and ensure financial viability. Entrepreneurs stepped up to the task and wowed the audience by presenting live at the Access Accelerator (A²) Headquarters with pitches complemented by product samples, props and live demos. Participants then had to defend their concepts during a question period by the judges.

First place winner, Jenson Rolle, Owner of Stay Chill 242 won a $5,000 cash prize and a business gift set donated by J.S. Johnson Insurance Agents & Brokers (JSJ). Second prize winner, Charles Richardson of CEE-MAR Telecoms earned a three-night stay at Fountain Bay Resort in Cat Island donated by the resort and a JSJ travel gift set. The third prize winner, Antonio Miller of Raw Build earned a gift bag from JSJ. Also putting up a good fight in the pitching arena was The New Duff, Chickcharney Chirren and Ami Da One.

"J.S Johnson has always been a keen supporter of organizations that address the growing needs of society. In a time of economic recovery, we found this partnership a great match for our financial support as the small business community continues to evolve," said Stephanie Hanna, Public Relations & Administration Vice President of JSJ. "We are proud to support the efforts of Access Accelerator and look forward to our continuous impact together," she continued.

 Inspired by the enthusiasm of the competitors, entrepreneur and angel investor, Henry Dean, Owner of United Sanitation, pledged an additional $20,000 in a surprise turn of events to be evenly split between first through fourth place winners. As a community leader, successful businessman, counselor and visionary, Dean saw this as an opportunity to advocate for small business owners through his support.

The judges had the important task of scoring the participants on the feasibility of their innovations. The panel consisted of Financial Institution representatives: Crestwell Gardiner, Vice President of Banking, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Ltd.; Robert Pantry, Chief Executive Officer, Simplified Lending Ltd.; Ellistina Knowles, Business Banking Manager, Scotiabank (Bahamas) Ltd.; Darvin Russell, Project Manager, Inter-American Development Bank; and industry experts: Petra Haven, Chameleon Management Group; Charles Sealy, Founder, Centris Distributors Ltd.; and Anthone Deveaux founder, Orca Construction Ltd.

As Access Accelerator prepares for the continuation of the series, Interim Executive Director, Samantha L. Rolle reflected on the programme's impact.

"It's not just about the Pitch Competitions and access to funding, but the entire educational series and how, through our programming, we (A²) instill the importance of entrepreneurial training and mentorship and prepare our MSME community for how they present themselves, the confidence they show and a wholistic approach to business ownership," expressed Rolle.

Pitch judge and top sponsor representative, Gardiner of Fidelity also chimed in, "Fidelity has and will continue to partner with the Access Accelerator, Small Business Development Centre to provide opportunities to those entrepreneurs that demonstrate preparedness, as this develops a vibrant ecosystem for business development and in turn supports national development."

Sponsors and participants look forward to future events as the organization will host its Global Business Pitch Competition on August 30th, wanting to attract growth-minded Bahamian entrepreneurs for a cash prize of $7,500 sponsored by Simplified Lending. The grand finale will take place in September with a top prize of $10,000 donated by Fidelity.

The pitch competition is open to startup and existing business owners, as long as the business does not generate more than $5 million in annual sales and/or does not employ more than fifty people. Competitions are In-person only events to protect the confidentiality of our client's business ideas. 

Interested participants are invited to submit a business plan, business license, and photo ID to register for a chance to compete on the Access Accelerator website at accessaccelerator.org/setseries/ 

To compete, applicants must submit required documents no later than August 20, 2022.