US Embassy Supports Start-Ups

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Friday, 25 February 2011 06:55

By caribarena news

The US embassy to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean has announced a new US$1.35M (BD$2.7M) entrepreneurship initiative with the University of the West Indies-Cave Hill and Indiana University.

According to a release, the multi-year Job Opportunity for Business Start-up (JOBS) initiative is aimed at supporting the growth of an entrepreneurial culture and diversifying the service oriented economies of Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. 

JOBS will be coordinated by the US Agency for International Development (USAID)/Barbados and Eastern Caribbean and Higher Education for Development (HED).

JOBS will strengthen the University of the West Indies Cave Hill School of Business’s Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship as the hub for innovative business training and growth in the Eastern Caribbean.


Indiana University Bloomington has been selected to partner with the Cave Hill School of Business under JOBS to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset in the region through updated degree and certificate programs focused on alternative energy initiatives, high-tech ventures, social entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship in cultural industries.

USAID’s Representative in Barbados James Goggin said, “A keystone of USAID’s co-operation programme for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean is to advance economic development through entrepreneurship. We are excited and honoured to be forming this new partnership with the University of the West Indies and its Cave Hill School of Business and Indiana University which will combine the energies of our three institutions to address the challenge of creating new business opportunities in Barbados and its neighboring countries, especially for Caribbean young people.”

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The JOBS initiative stems from a worldwide USAID effort to promote post-secondary skills training. Many technical and vocational community colleges and higher education institutions in the United States have business schools and centers that are actively linked to industry and corporations. The support of academic and business communities in Barbados will facilitate a strong foundation for graduates having an entrepreneurial spirit, regardless of their area of study.

“So often, we hear about youth building our future. The JOBS initiative is an investment in that idea. Education coupled with practical internships and mentoring from the business community can nurture the entrepreneurial spirit of students and young working professionals,” said HED Executive Director Tully Cornick.

This award of US$1,350,000 is funded by the US Government through USAID/Barbados and Eastern Caribbean, and managed by HED.

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