Local businesswoman Chaneil Imhoff was among four persons from the Eastern Caribbean to receive honors at the Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurship Programme (CTEP).
CTEP provided participants with a capacity-building workshops and critical mentorship support, focusing on stimulating the creation and the growth of technology entrepreneurship in the Caribbean.
Imhoff was among 50 competitors in the Business Ideation Phase, where she placed third with her idea for an online, on-demand grocery delivery system.
Her grocery delivery system, Packed Grocery Delivery, has already won plaudits in the March 2019 GES Hackathon for the Road in Curacao, receiving $1000.
According to its Indiegogo website, Packed Grocery Delivery “will revolutionize grocery shopping in Antigua and Barbuda. Our users will be able to order groceries on our platform and have them delivered right to their doors.”
The regional competition was organized into three categories – the Business Ideation Phase, the Business Scale-Up Stage and the Business Validation Stage.
Other winners include Grenada’s Cory Zufelt, who placed first in the Business Scale-up Phase; Kenna Questelles George of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, placed third in the Validation Phase; and winner in the Ideation Phase was Linda Dias of Montserrat.
Kwesi Roberts, Business Development Specialist at the OECS Competitive Business Unit (CBU), congratulated the OECS firms for their commendable performance in the programme.
“The OECS CBU is delighted by the performance of the four young OECS entrepreneurs who secured top positions in the CTEP.
“As we continue to implement virtual entrepreneurship programs in the OECS region, we look forward to supporting these startups and also supporting the Business Service Organisations who execute national programmes to strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem and foster the growth of startups within the region,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lisa Harding, the Coordinator of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development at the Caribbean Development Bank, outlined support for sustainable growth as one of the Bank’s strategic objectives.
“This technology focused incubator programme creates a platform for scores of entrepreneurs to develop the skills they need to advance their businesses, and to develop a range of innovative solutions for the market.
“They, in turn, can be better positioned to create further employment opportunities for others as they expand their companies, and indeed contribute to the digital transformation of the Region,” Harding said.