The curtain has finally been drawn; the lights, cameras, and action experienced during the week of activities will certainly be remembered as yet another successful and excellent Small Business Week. Join us as we review the week’s activities.

Giving praise and thanksgiving was in order for the start of the week, as  members, friends and stakeholders fellowshipped at The Sanctuary Empowerment Centre.

This was followed by the VI Annual Leo Leacock Memorial Lecture where regional economist, Sir Dwight Venner, Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, delivered the keynote address. Governor Venner called for sustained action through access to finance, legislation, research & development to help those critical sectors during this economic downturn.  He posited the view that Caribbean leaders needed to rethink their strategies to ensure an effective comeback to economic recovery. 

On September 24^th it was ‘youth in focus’ as the association unveiled its Youth Forum to over 150 children from 13 secondary schools and one primary school. Held at the Savannah Beach Hotel, the youth forum featured presentations on the cultural industries and ICT sector. Members and stakeholders were on hand to share particular experiences in the sectors on display and to help the students prepared for the Enterprise in Action Youth programme for 2014 – 2015.

Meet, greet and let’s talk, was the purpose of the Promotional Bus Tour, which visited strategic business points around the island such as Speightstown, Six Roads and Oistins. Members and sponsors engaged with several small business owners, educating them on the service offerings of the SBA and industry partners.

A historic day was on September 26^th, when the SBA was finally crowned the 20/20 Cricket Champions after three years of accepting defeat from the strategic partners. A resounding win by eight wickets proved that the home team was ready and determined to capture the title. Congratulations to all the players and good sportsmanship by the teams. A day indeed to remember.

Finally, the prestigious Awards Ceremony and Dinner at the Hilton Barbados, was held to standing room only as several entrepreneurs and business support organisations were recognised for their business and community development. The President’s award was coped by the SBA’s business operations manager, Ms. Andrea Taylor, while C & G Star Trading was crowned Small Business of the Year.  Another highlight was the dynamic presentation by featured speaker Professor Avinash Persaud, internationally acclaimed economist and Barbadian, who captured the audience with his powerful and thought provoking presentation.

Special thanks to all sponsors who supported Small Business Week, particularly title sponsor First Citizens Bank, and all members and stakeholders who participated in the events. The postmortem will demonstrate that the value of the small business sector to the economy has been further underscored and should be evident by improvement in the local business environment, in the months to come. Small businesses are truly an ‘elixir’ and must be harnessed to contribute to the recovery efforts of our nation.