by Donella Hosten
The Grenada Coalition of Service Industries (GCSI) held its inaugural Service Exposition themed “Celebrating services: The lifeblood of our Economy,” at the Trade Centre on Thursday, 22 June and Friday, 23 June 2017.
Chairman of the GCSI, Jude Bernard, said this exposition is an opportunity to expose Grenadians to the wide array of services available in Grenada. “Our mandate as the Coalition of Service Industries is to help develop the small service sectors…”
The 3-day exposition targeted 3 main audiences — the general public, young people, and the policy makers of the country. With regard to the young people, Bernard said “we want them to have a view into what trending and the opportunities that exist in services especially IT and IT enabled services.” He wants them to know there are real opportunities for careers for them, and they can create their own jobs.
Bernard noted the planning of the event was frustrating, but they were determined. He also hopes this would be an annual event and that they would be able to attract more businesses in the future. The 3 main components of the exposition included the 26 main exhibitors, business development seminars and creative and cultural services.
One of the young entrepreneurs featured at the exposition was Kendell Daniel, founder and manager of eLearning Kings, an eLearning Solutions company. Daniel prides his business as a content development platform used for educational purposes. Their services are tailored for persons who are not tech savvy, as well as for those who are.
“A lot of the times we as content consumers have to go out there consuming international content that may not be relevant for Grenada,” hence they pulled together a team to bring Grenada to international standards.
Although eLearning Kings has not yet been officially launched, Daniel and his team are considering the implementation of artificial intelligence added to their platform.
Another young and upcoming business highlighted was Nexio Technology Support. Representing them, was Stevelynson Worme, Business Support Technician. According to Worme, they have only been in operation for about 4 months. However, the company offers a proactive approach and effective and efficient services. This includes local and online backup solutions, wireless solutions, anti-virus solutions and IP phone systems.
Crystal Nedd, Brand Ambassador of KariBites, another impending business for customers to order food online from various local restaurants, she said that customers will be able to view the menus, place their orders, pay and either pick up or have their food delivered.
When questioned about the initial idea, Nedd said market research was done and they realised that Grenadians ordered food a lot, and KariBites wanted to make the process easier and more convenient for customers.
Rackelle Forsythe, Training Coordinator at the Business Support Centre (BSC) was also interviewed by the NOW Grenada team. Her business offers training, accounting support for small businesses and business consultation. According to Rackelle, “we are the leaders in both professional and personal development.”
