By Kwesi Roberts

Thursday, July 11, 2019 — For the first time, three youth entrepreneurs from the OECS pitched their business startups at the Creative Business Cup (CBC) in Copenhagen, Denmark. Kenna Questelles George from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Founder of LinkUp; Tamara Prosper from Grenada, Founder ofTambaran by Tamara; and Denell Floirus from Saint Lucia, Founder of EcoCarib. 

The CBC programme is an event intended to strengthen the attendees’ innovative capabilities and benefit their businesses. The programme hosted startups from over 60 participating countries at the global festival of creativity in Copenhagen from June 29 – July 2, 2019.

The CBC seeks to empower entrepreneurs and trend spotters with creative ideas to connect with investors and global markets, and compete for prizes in the global pitch competition.

The three OECS startups were selected based on their success in recent pitch deck competitions such as the Caribbean Entrepreneurship Challenge (CEC), the Caribbean Climate Innovation Centre’s (CCIC) Green Tech Boot Camp and Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurship Program (CTEP). 

The four-day event featured bootcamp sessions and panel and round table discussions with startups like 6Degrees from Israel and content strategists from the CBC. Participants were given the opportunity to engage in discussions such as Intellectual Property Rights with Dr. Hashim Hussein, Head of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, Investment and Technology Promotion Office.

Pitch competitions were also conducted on the main stage, with the final two days focused on three (3) minute pitches from all participants. 

The overall winners of the championship were Denmark’s LaPee in first place, with an outdoor portable urinal for women; followed by Finland’s Deafmetal, a hearing aid accessory innovation which allows you to personalise your hearing device; and in third place the Czech Republic’s Snuggs, a sustainable female underwear that replaces the need for single use menstrual pads.  There were also strong pitches from Africa and the Americas featuring nanotechnology that harnesses water in dry places using little to no energy.

Business Development Specialist at the OECS Competitive Business Unit (CBU), Kwesi Roberts, congratulated the young entrepreneurs on their participation in the international event.

“Exposure on the international level is crucial for our young businessmen and women. Events, such as the Creative Business Cup, provide an opportunity for them to learn from like-minded people from around the globe.”

“It also affords our entrepreneurs the opportunity to build networks and increase their business opportunities,” Roberts said.

The youth entrepreneurs are currently following up on leads established during the event. 

ABOUT THE ORGANISATION OF EASTERN CARIBBEAN STATES

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an International Organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance among independent and non-independent countries in the Eastern Caribbean. The OECS came into being on June 18th 1981, when seven Eastern Caribbean countries signed a treaty agreeing to cooperate with each other while promoting unity and solidarity among its Members. The Treaty became known as the Treaty of Basseterre, so named in honour of the capital city of St. Kitts and Nevis where it was signed. The OECS today, currently has eleven members, spread across the Eastern Caribbean comprising Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Martinique and Guadeloupe.