The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) announces the winners of its first Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) Business Innovation Contest which formed part of the Bank’s Public Education Programme aimed at actively promoting economic development of the ECCU.
The contest, which awarded EC$10,500 in prizes, challenged the competitors from across the ECCU to conceive an innovative business idea and submit the concept with a supporting business plan. The winners were then selected from a pool of 157 entries from secondary schools and sixth form college students.
Nadia Browne of the Montserrat Secondary School captured first place with her ‘Fruit ‘N Fit’ idea, a snackette and gym combination, targeting the youth. Nadia’s submission was driven by her concerns about the precarious rise in obesity levels in the region and a drive to help the young people of her community.
Second place winner Keivor Delpleche of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College, St Kitts and Nevis was not daunted by a market already awash with bakeries. She impressed the judges with her home bakery concept called ‘Cravings’ specialising in decorative cupcakes for every occasion and classes designed to help pastry enthusiasts enhance their baking skills.
The team of Nia Sorhaindo and Jawole Joseph of the Convent High School, Commonwealth of Dominica saw a need in their island home and proposed an entertainment centre which they dubbed, ‘The Arts.’
The idea, which captured third place, proposed a centre that would be open to all, particularly the youth and provide an environment where aspiring artists could express themselves through visual and performing arts.
The contest formed part of the Bank’s discovery exercises to identify areas in which capacity building was needed in terms of entrepreneurship and innovative thinking which are critical to the growth and development of an economy. As a result, the ECCB will use the observations made by the judges of the competition to develop sessions designed to address the gaps found in the students’ submissions.
The full list of winners of the competition is as follows:
|
Name of Student |
Place |
Country/School |
| Nadia Browne | 1st | Montserrat, Montserrat Secondary School |
| Keivor Delpleche | 2nd | St Kitts and Nevis, Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College |
| Nia Sorhaindo & Jawole Joseph | 3rd | The Commonwealth of Dominica, Convent High School |
| Claytifa Samuel | Commendable Entry | Antigua and Barbuda, Antigua Girls High School |
| Anil Chambers | Commendable Entry | The Commonwealth of Dominica, Dominica Grammar School |
| Lexann John | Commendable Entry | Grenada, Grenada Seventh Day Adventist Comprehensive School |
| Sharese Allen | Commendable Entry | Montserrat, Montserrat Secondary School |
| Shervey Alphonse | Commendable Entry | Saint Lucia, Castries Comprehensive Secondary School |
| Ashana Brookes | Commendable Entry | St Kitts and Nevis, Cayon High School |
| Raeisa Byron-Cox | Commendable Entry | St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Vincent Girls High School |
| St Vincent Girls High School submitted the most entries (129) | ||
