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Since launching her health and wellness brand ‘Sugar Town Organics’ in 2010, Kittian entrepreneur Anastasha Elliott has been very busy.

The company’s debut product line ‘Yaphene’ consisted of natural soaps, shampoos, and conditioners. A spinoff of organic and vegan food items followed shortly afterwards called ‘Flauriel’.

In 2019, the ‘Marapa’ luxury beauty range was added to the Sugar Town Organics family, and in 2020 the newest member arrived – ‘Baba Lullaby’ – which caters for babies and children.

Every single product is methodically handcrafted by Anastasha and two other full-time employees using traditional extraction, blending, mixing and infusion techniques. Some of the nourishing indigenous ingredients used include aloe, lemongrass, roselle, hibiscus, papaya and coconut.

Anastasha harvests most of those fruits, along with medicinal herbs and spices, from a mini-farm in the backyard of her home but she also works with six local farmers for a variety of raw materials.

The rapid expansion of Anastasha’s skin, hair, and body brands over the past decade are a testament to her focus, drive, and determination.

Anastasha comes from a self-sufficient family who are used to living off the land. She was actively encouraged to be self-employed from a young age and even had ‘own a business by the time I am 30’ on her to-do list!

When she was eight, Anastasha began dabbling in various money-making initiatives. Over the years she has tried her hand at tie-dying t-shirts, knitting crochet hats and accessories, designing clothes, and making cupcakes and patties.

“I’d been working on what I needed to get started as an entrepreneur for a while,” Anastasha recalls. “I had an idea what I wanted to do, but I didn’t have a lot of money. I remember going to the bank, even though my mother told me not to, and that was a very disheartening experience because the woman I spoke to actually laughed at me.

“I went back to my mom, and she suggested I have a bake sale to raise more funds. I did the first one and everything sold out! I ran that bake sale for four years, operating out of my home, until I had enough money to start my business. My mom matched the money that I made as well.”

The seed for Anastasha’s botanical business was planted several years earlier when her mother Myrtrice was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She fought the illness using a holistic approach and completely changed her eating and lifestyle habits to become cancer-free after just a few months.

Anastasha saw how her mother used the power of nature to help her recovery, and wanted to share what the family had learned, along with what generations before had already handed down.

Anastasha says: “We grew up making a lot of stuff. I learned how to make soap, and the basics of mixing butters and oil, from my mother. I also had some family recipes, that in some cases were four generations old, which helped me to choose the right ingredients for our products.”

She adds: “The ingredients have to be from the Caribbean or an area that has influenced the Caribbean like Africa or Europe. I spend quite a bit of time on research to see what natural remedies and plants have been proven to work for specific conditions like eczema.”

Anastasha’s popular vegan food and beverage line was introduced just months afterwards as she worked towards minimising waste by as much as possible.

“Flauriel came about because, after making the products for Yaphene, I had a lot of raw material left over”, Anastasha recalls. “I only used a small amount of food, and I couldn’t consume it all. So, I thought about making jams, jellies, dips, hot sauces, and wines with it. People loved them so much, I decided to develop it into a fully-fledged line.”

Anastasha says listening to what her consumers want from her products has been a key factor in her company’s ongoing development, along with invaluable support from regional agencies, like Caribbean Export.

“Caribbean Export has helped me develop personally and professionally”, Anastasha says.

“In the space of one year, our sales grew 150%, and I put a lot of that down to the assistance we got from Caribbean Export. They offered us training, access to tradeshows, and exposed us to other markets. We built our export base through a lot of those tradeshows. Even the partnership I currently have with a company in North Carolina for an Amazon Store is because of Caribbean Export.”

Anastasha hopes the launch of the upcoming Amazon Store, which will offer her Flauriel food range to a global audience, will re-energise Sugar Town Organics’ exports to pre-COVID levels or better.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Sugar Town Organics’ sales were split 75/25 between the local and overseas market respectively. But since the pandemic that has shifted to 90/10.

The global health crisis has drastically impacted the retail aspect of the business in St Kitts as well. Anastasha opened a store in February 2021 in the Pelican Mall in Basseterre but was forced to close for six months at the height of the outbreak.

Anastasha says: “Opening a store during these hard times was a positive move but honestly it’s been a struggle. Even when we did reopen after the lockdown, there were still so many restrictions, and that has really hampered the business. We’ve had to adjust quite a bit.”

Adjustment is the watchword when it comes to COVID-19. But considering Anastasha’s life and business journey so far, it seems likely that she will be able to make any changes necessary to ensure Sugar Town Organics does not just survive but thrives.

Caribbean Export Development Agency and The Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law (SRC) have agreed on a framework to partner on a trade and investment research agenda.

The agreement outlines several initiatives which will contribute to the enhanced competitiveness and sustainable development of the Caribbean region including, research, joint programmes and internship placements.

This is an important partnership for Caribbean Export as it supports the goal of positioning the Agency as a knowledge hub while continuing to provide high-impact support for MSMEs in the region. It will ensure private sector access to cutting edge trade information to enhance decision-making, export competitiveness and facilitate business expansion. The research data will also be key in identifying areas of innovation for regional investment programmes.

In addition, the collaboration will provide students in the International Trade Policy master’s programme with the opportunity to gain much needed on the job training and experience.

The organisations are scheduled to sign the Memorandum of Understanding on Friday, October 1, 2021, at 10 am AST. During the online event, there will be remarks from Caribbean Export’s Executive Director, Deodat Maharaj, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UWI, Professor Clive Landis and the Director of the SRC Dr. Jan Yves Remy.

A few weeks ago, Deodat Maharaj, Executive Director of the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA), published an op-ed calling for greater support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the region. The article is the latest call from Caribbean Export and various Caribbean stakeholders to advance the diversification of local economies to reverse the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The data speaks for itself, not only when we look at the reduction of our collective GDP over the last year but also in terms of the massive debt the region faces. Countries that were already highly indebted, today are presented with larger debt commitments. We need to rethink which economic actors we should bet on in order to move forward,” said Maharaj in an exclusive recent interview with Nearshore Americas.

For Maharaj, supporting MSMEs with financing, resources and stimulating policy frameworks is an obvious choice, considering that across the Caribbean, MSMEs are already a significant force.

“MSMEs represent between 70-85% of Caribbean businesses and contribute between 60-70% of the region’s GDP. Critically, they account for an estimated 50% of total employment,” Maharaj noted in his op-ed.

The Role of Government in Building MSMEs

Caribbean MSMEs are in a particularly difficult position at the moment. Lack of access to financing as well as plunging demand has forced them to lay off workers and presented new problems in maintaining the capital and liquidity to survive the Covid-19 crisis. Many MSMEs in the Caribbean operate in the tourism sector, which was decimated by the complete shutdown of global travel and is only now beginning to recover.

“We’ve seen how fragile and susceptible the tourism industry is to specific events such as natural disasters and geopolitical developments. Many jobs and workers are at risk whenever changes of this kind occur,” Maharaj explained. “That’s why governments should incentivize a transition to services, knowledge and premium products in our export portfolios.”

“MSMEs represent between 70-85% of Caribbean businesses and contribute between 60-70% of the region’s GDP” — Deodat Maharaj

Maharaj believes that MSMEs need an integrated approach and support based on a coherent strategy. That means increasing access to grant financing, in which Caribbean Export has taken the lead, as well as promoting new initiatives to tackle the longer-term challenges that MSMEs will face in adapting to the post pandemic landscape.

For Maharaj, the role of government is to create an environment that enables this job-supporting sector to sustain itself in the long term. But so far, almost all measures introduced by governments have focused on short-term survival rather than future growth. These measures have included improving liquidity through postponement of payments, reduction in government fees and loan-guarantee programs.

New Technology and Services Exports

MSMEs thrive when they are integrated into global value chains. But the pandemic disrupted supply chains and international trade, and MSMEs usually don’t have the resources to rebuild the broken connections on their own. Without support, the region’s small businesses will remain outside of global trade ecosystems.

“Putting MSMEs’ international potential at the heart of national export strategies is critical,” said Maharaj.

“However, we should remember that the Caribbean can’t mass produce: we don’t have the skills of China, India or even Latin American countries such as Mexico. We need to focus on niche markets, niche products and premium prices. That is where we can compete, and in that context, pivoting to new technology and services exports will give us an edge,” he added.

Though the Caribbean’s economic challenges have grown thanks to the pandemic, technology is offering a path forward. There are emerging opportunities for the region, as companies worldwide use technology to explore ways to reposition their value chains and reallocate their various goods and services components to serve their primary markets better.

“Technology has a democratizing effect. We often talk about commodities but we have to start talking more about applying new technology to globally position our MSMEs in the services sector. We need to monetize talent and the region’s knowledge in professional services, but also in the creative sector like animation. When we look at the progress being made in this area, it brings a lot of hope,” Maharaj said.

“Countries in the region should adopt policies to stimulate innovation through digitalization and technology that aid capital investment. The region should provide last-mile connectivity and capitalize on the global services sector’s export potential. Aside from general information technology infrastructure, the region must ensure adequate access to equipment and capacities at the company level to reap the benefits of digital advancement,” he added.

“Countries in the region should adopt policies to stimulate innovation through digitalization and technology that aid capital investment” — Deodat Maharaj

Clearly, knowledge-based service MSMEs are in a unique position to benefit from the opportunities that arise from the pandemic. As Maharaj pointed out, the Caribbean presents interesting opportunities for global companies in such niche areas as animation, and market demand for animation services has increased from both the traditional business and film industries. As a result, countries including Jamaica have implemented training initiatives to elevate their human talent in this area.

Despite the potential of technology to support MSMEs, many small business owners don’t have the skills to take full advantage of digital platforms. The region’s governments need to plug this knowledge gap in order for MSMEs to capture these opportunities, Maharaj suggests.

“Institutionally we need to ensure that there are regional and national initiatives to support them while connecting them with larger investors. That is work for the future,” he said.

This article which was written by Bryan Ch. Campbell Romero, the Investment and Policy Editor, and originally published on Nearshore Americas.

Most people have heard the saying: ‘Grandma knows best’. But, in the case of Jamaican entrepreneur Javin Williams, CEO at organic cosmetics company ‘Herboo Botanicals’, this old adage has more than proven to be true.

Nearly 10 years ago, when Javin was suffering from dandruff, he asked his grandmother for advice on what herbs he could use to relieve the condition. She passed on her wisdom about herbal remedies and Javin started to experiment in his mother’s kitchen.

He recalls: “When I was in college in 2012, I had really bad dandruff, and the products I used never really worked or they only worked for a short time.

“I went to my grandmother and she recommended rosemary and peppermint and when I used those herbs on my head they got rid of the dandruff within two weeks. A lightbulb went off, and I thought, ‘why don’t we use the herbs we have in Jamaica to make organic products, rather than importing synthetic products?’

“It was a problem I identified and it thrust me into entrepreneurship.”
Javin’s idea centred around blending natural ingredients like coconut oil, sorrel, peppermint, sage oil, lemon grass, and rosemary to make a ‘2-in-1’ shampoo and conditioner to relieve dandruff and an itchy scalp.

But he admits it took a while to get the initial formula right.

“The first prototype wasn’t something to talk about,” Javin recounts. “The formula was so off. It was watery and every time I made it the colour came out different. So, a lot of research went into it. Then we tested it with friends and family and after their feedback we modified it quite a bit.”

Fast facts:
• The organic hair care market value will total $9 billion (US) in 2021 (Fact MR).
• From 2021-2031, the organic hair care market’s projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 7% (Fact MR).
• Shampoo holds the largest market share in the haircare segment and is estimated to grow to $30 billion (US) by 2023 (Statista.com).
• In 2019, Europe dominated the market for natural hair care products and accounted for 38.2% share of the global revenue (Vision Research).
• Hair industry statistics show that 52% of consumers prefer to buy natural or organic shampoo (Statista.com).

Javin came up with the company name Herboo which combines ‘herbal’ with ‘shampoo’ and involved his sister Kamla to assist with marketing the brand. He also enlisted help from the Jamaican Scientific Research Council, along with the Ministry of Health, to further standardise the formulation for his debut product.

He states: “The biggest challenge I faced at the start was a lack of knowledge. I had very little science knowledge and I didn’t study business at all, so in the beginning I didn’t really know what I was doing. I just knew that the product worked and I wanted to get it to as many people as possible.

“Then I did some entrepreneurship training and I learned how to come up with a plan so I could set up and run a profitable business.”

Javin was a quick learner. Herboo has since evolved from a small business into an export-ready company and has benefitted from financial and mentoring support from local institutions including five angel investors through First Angels Jamaica.

He also received an Investment Readiness Grant, a Co-investment Grant, and a Direct Assistance Grant from the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) and describes the organisation’s assistance as “phenomenal”.

“The first time I pitched for investment with Caribbean Export, they pointed out a number of areas that I was weak in and needed to fix,” Javin states.

“They wanted me to get a financial plan, to work on the packaging, logo, and labels, and to secure a distributor. So, I fixed those issues with the Investment Readiness Grant. And the Co-investment Grant helped me to buy more raw materials and get into more retail stores.”

Shortly after winning the ‘’Mogul in the Making’ competition in 2015, Herboo outsourced its bottling to local factory Orion Manufacturing and production levels jumped drastically from 50 to 2,000 bottles a day.

In 2018, Jamaican pharmaceutical distributor Cari-Med also came onboard. This strategic partnership led to a substantial increase in sales.

Javin has also added a protective moisturising hair oil and a body and face oil to the Herboo product range. Later this year, he wants to introduce a separate shampoo and conditioner along with an eczema body wash and hair moisturiser.

Javin describes Herboo as a “farm-to-hair” operation and believes its success is primarily based on its proven scientific benefits and organic ingredients. Most of the herbs used are grown on the family farm in Manchester or supplied by other farms on the island. The bottles and some oils are sourced from the US.

“Our shampoos offer five unique health benefits in one,” Javin explains. “Our product doesn’t just treat dandruff, it also treats eczema, it will grow your hair, and it will keep your scalp clean and healthy.

“Our list of ingredients is also easy to understand so you won’t see anything that you don’t know. In Jamaica, all of these natural ingredients can be found in your backyard.”

The Herboo line is currently available in 201 stores in Jamaica, five outlets in the Cayman Islands, some shops in the US, and was recently launched on Amazon.com. It is also sold online through the company’s website herboobotanicals.com.

Herboo’s customers come from around the world with 60% of sales in Jamaica and 40% worldwide.

Javin says: ‘We started off in Jamaica but now we have customers ordering our products from about 12 different locations including Trinidad, Barbados, Germany and the UK. So, it’s spiralled around the world and our products are going to countries we’ve never even been too.

“What we’re trying to do now is to find distributors in the markets where we have a high demand from customers.”

Javin is passionate and ambitious and one of his other major long-term goals is to have Herboo listed as a public company on the stock exchange.
“I would love Jamaicans and other individuals to participate in the company because it’s such an amazing brand,” Javin says.

“We came from humble beginnings, so to be able to offer shares for the public to buy into it would be amazing. We’re currently putting things in place to work our way up to that milestone as part of our 10-year plan.”

In the Caribbean, it is no exaggeration to say that music is life.

Rhyme, beats, rhythm, and song enthuse almost every aspect of the region’s identity, and play an essential role in our culture, history, dialect, and storytelling.

Music is so deeply embedded in the Caribbean landscape, it is easy to take it for granted, and undervalue its economic and social importance. But around the world, music is undoubtedly big business.

It was recently announced by Forbes magazine that Barbadian-born entertainer Rihanna is now a billionaire. Although the majority of Rihanna’s wealth has been derived from businesses outside of her music career, there is no doubt that music is what propelled her into superstardom, alongside other noteworthy Caribbean artistes such as Bob Marley, Wyclef Jean, and Nicki Minaj.

In Guyana, local music producer Burchmore Simon has been promoting and encouraging Caribbean musical talent for decades.

Burchmore started his independent label Kross Kolor Records in 1998 and since then he has worked with many successful entertainers including Adrian Dutchin, Jumo Rubber Waist Primo, Melissa Vanilla Roberts, and Tennicia DeFreitas.

Self-taught musician Gavin Mendonca has been signed with Kross Kolor Records for several years. Gavin started off as a rock n’ roll performer after falling in love with punk rock when he was a teenager and 10 years ago he launched a band called Feed the Flames.

After establishing a niche audience at home in Guyana, as well as in Trinidad and Suriname, Gavin began fusing his passion for rock with his Guyanese heritage to create an entirely new sub-genre of music which he called Creole Rock.

Gavin’s first solo album, entitled Creole Rock: The Beginning, was released in April 2016 under the Kross Kolor Records label.

I wanted to be an authentic rock musician, Gavin recalls. And I was always interested in cultural preservation and reflecting true identity through my work and art. So, I decided to experiment with Guyanese folk songs, using our dialect and slangs in song writing, and I started blending them with rock n’ roll, which is how I created Creole Rock’.

Fast facts:

The global recorded music market grew by 7.4% in 2020 (IFPI).
Global recorded music revenues for 2020 were $21.6 billion (US) (IFPI).
The UK is the largest exporter of music in the world, according to the BPI.
The UK’s music industry generated £519.7 million (GBP) in export earnings in 2020 (BPI).
At the end of 2020, 443 million users had a paid subscription music account (IFPI).

Gavin continues: I fell in love with our folk music because of how similar it is to punk rock in terms of being very simple and playful, and even the chords and progressions were the same. So, in 2015, I teamed up with a local African spiritual drummer, Marlon Chucky Adams, and he taught me a whole other dimension to folk music.

Folk music is music by the folk, for the folk, and it encourages community. It’s about singing and celebrating together and it inspires positive vibes. Once Chucky is playing the drums, even if you don’t understand the lyrics, your hips just have to shake.

In 2018, Chucky and I started working on a project called Folk It Up which involved playing folk music all around Guyana in an effort to keep it alive. We found a book of 100 Guyanese folk songs and decided to record all these folk songs which haven’t been recorded for years

In September 2019, Gavin released his second full length album Gavin & Chucky: Folk It Up Volume 1.

He is currently in the studio recording the follow-up album Volume 2 and is appreciative of the support he has received from Kross Kolor Records for his work. He explains: Here in Guyana, there are not many record labels, and of all the record labels, Kross Kolor is the most culturally influential. Most of their work revolves around cultural preservation so it was the perfect fit working with Burchmore Simon.

Burchmore has been a mentor to me in many ways and generously awarded me time in his studio to write and record music over the years. He has also been very supportive of our mission to keep our history alive.
Over the past three years, Gavin has performed Creole Rock and Guyanese folk songs at music festivals around the world including the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Brazil, the US, and China.

He believes there is global demand for traditional and modern Caribbean music and is hopeful that more local and regional musicians will get the chance to pursue their dreams just like him.

Everywhere I go people seem to be fascinated by folk music and that’s because I look and sound different, Gavin states. Foreigners are very receptive and you can see the enjoyment on their faces when I play.

What is lacking in the Caribbean is access to resources and especially education on the business of music. Things like what to do with your music after it’s been recorded. How to get it onto streaming sites. How to promote it properly and reach an audience. All of that still needs work.

More can be done and should be done to get Guyanese and Caribbean music ready for the world market because more young people deserve the opportunity to be export ready.

Gavin has not travelled for over a year because of COVID-19 but he is now fully vaccinated and planning to go on the road again. In October he will perform in North Carolina at the first Ethno USA event a folk, world and traditional music festival which aims to revive and keep alive global cultural heritage.

Gavin says: The pandemic hit us very hard and as a musician in Guyana it was depressing and difficult to know how we would recover. But to be able to get back out there on my cultural mission, makes me very happy.
I believe the work I am doing has a bigger purpose and I get my satisfaction from that, because I love what I do.

Children, children (Yes Papa?)
Where have you been? (Grand mama)
What did she give you? (Cheese and Bread)
Where is mine? (On de shelf)
How me gon get am? (Climb pon a chair)
And if me fall? (Me nah cay’)
Guyanese folk song Small Days.

Many Caribbean countries mark Emancipation in the month of August. Indeed, the CARICOM Community celebrates this historical milestone on 1^st August annually.  During this time, we reflect on the end of slavery which will forever remain a stain etched on the collective conscience of humanity.  We use the remembrance of Emancipation to celebrate the deep and inextricable bonds we as Caribbean people have with Africa. Thus far, these connections have largely remained in the historical, cultural and people spheres. This must change to also include translating our excellent ties into trade and investment relationships that will redound to the benefit of people here in our Region and in Africa.

For those who follow developments in Africa, May 2019 marked the dawn of an exciting chapter in the continent’s continued ascent. It ushered in the start of the African Continental Free Trade Area with a cogent and compelling vision with Africa as one mega free trade area.  Just in terms of countries participating, it is already the largest free trade area in the world given the number of states who are members. Africa’s rise is also eloquently illustrated by the data. Whilst the entire world is reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and most countries and Regions like ours showing negative growth, the African Economic Outlook done by the African Development Bank noted that real GDP is expected to grow by 3.4 percent despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Countries such as Mozambique have been receiving record levels of foreign direct investment. Yet, whilst Asian countries led by China have been rushing to Africa, we have largely lagged behind in terms of pursuing an aggressive trade and investment relationship with Africa. The opportunities to partner with Africa and a market of an estimated 1.4 billion people are immense.  As we seek to advance an agenda for a resilient Caribbean, it is not only important to shore up existing trade partnerships but to also look to new relationships on the trade and investment front. The world is changing and so must we.

In terms of trade data, according to the United Nations International Trade Centre trade map, CARIFORUM countries (CARICOM and the Dominican Republic) exported US$249.2 million worth of goods to Africa in 2018 which grew to US$601.4 million in 2019. Though this is a step in the right direction it is still a fraction of what can be realised once we make a concerted push to Africa. The obvious question is then, how we go about ramping up our commercial relationship with Africa.

Firstly, we need to shift from political diplomacy to one that includes a commercial focus giving Africa the priority it deserves.  Some progress has been made on this front with the establishment of missions in several African capitals by Caribbean countries. We are also seeing results. Just last month, I participated in the signing ceremony where Caribbean companies Global Integrated Fintech Solutions (GIFTS) and IPayAnywhere (Global) signed an MOU with Nigerian giant TelNet relating to the provision of a range of payment services. What was different about this relationship is that it ushered in a partnership focused on the new economy and not the classic relationship in the trade of commodities. The Barbados High Commission in Ghana played an instrumental role in bringing this to reality hence the emphasis on strong commercial representation. Similarly, the joint mission of CARICOM countries established in Nairobi, Kenya must pursue the same objective with a focus on East and Southern Africa.

Secondly, as we build a relationship with Africa and seek to also attract tourists from the continent, we must also deepen our relationship in the services sector other than tourism.   We already have Caribbean expertise serving in Africa in places like Mozambique supporting the development of their energy sector. However, this is individual and ad hoc. We need to be more systematic and look to areas such as tourism where we have demonstrated expertise and find ways of marketing our knowledge in such areas to countries where this assistance is required.

Thirdly, as the youngest continent on the planet with approximately 60 percent of the population under the age of 25 and with a growing middle class, there is immense potential for our creative sector. For example, Caribbean music remains popular in Africa, but we need to be more proactive in identifying the market opportunities and support our artistes in accessing them through digital and other platforms building on initial efforts such as the successful collaboration between Caribbean Soca artistes like Machel Montano from Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria’s Timaya. By focusing our creative sector on Africa’s vibrant young people, we will be building a relationship for years to come.    

Finally, it is important to underline that building this relationship with Africa and its private sector is not only the remit of the governments across the Region. Business has an important role to play in reaching out to Africa as has been done by institutions such as Republic Bank which has established operations in Ghana. Private sector organisations such as the chambers of commerce and manufacturers association need to also establish relationships with their counterparts on the continent. We at the Caribbean Export Development Agency recognise the importance of helping to build this bridge. This is precisely the reason why the identification of new trading relationships is an important part of our Strategic Plan for the period 2021-2024. We have already started initial outreach to institutions such as the East Africa Chamber of Commerce. As a Caribbean person who has lived, worked and travelled across Africa, I have seen first-hand the seismic shifts taking place on the continent. It is time we also make this pivot to Africa investing the requisite time, effort and energy. In a rapidly changing world, bolstering our relationship with Africa is no longer an option but should be a key element of our strategy to help build Caribbean resilience.

Belize has a rich chocolate history dating back thousands of years to the Mayans who are believed to have invented the confectionary.

These original chocolatiers would dry, grind, and mix cacao beans with water to create a bitter drink that was often combined with chilli and poured from a height to create a frothy top.

The Maya, and subsequently the Aztecs, thought chocolate was a gift from the Gods and not many people would argue with that even now.

Belize’s ancient chocolate connection is ever-present in the story of The Belize Chocolate Factory which is owned and operated by British couple Chris and Jo Beaumont.

Chris and Jo met in Barbados nearly 20 years ago. Chris was an engineer, and Jo had been working as a television advertising producer, but they both yearned for a simpler life in the Caribbean.

After spending six months learning to become water sports instructors, the couple moved to Belize to set up a sailing and windsurfing school.

A short time later the couple were managing a boutique hotel. One weekend they decided to visit the Toledo district, which is known as “the cradle of chocolate”, and that trip led them in a different direction.

Chris recalls: “In 2007, we went to the first-ever cacao festival held in Belize. It was in a town called Punta Gorda.

“I’ve always eaten way too much chocolate but I didn’t know anything about the beans or even how it was made. So, we just went there for something to do.

“We came back to San Pedro with some beans, and that’s how we started really, just making chocolate in our kitchen. At the time all the beans grown in Belize were exported so we immediately thought there could be a way to make a business based here that would create jobs and be a great Belizean product.”

The Beaumont’s established the Belize Chocolate Company in 2007 and their first bar, named ‘Kakaw’, made its debut in a local wine shop in December.

Chris says: “From the outset we decided that we needed to focus on quality. We thought the beans and the history was fantastic so we needed to pitch it as a premium product”.

Jo adds: “Initially we made the chocolate in small batches and we offered it to some of the high-end hotels as well as the local wine store.

“When it started to sell we realised that we would have to work on some branding. I contacted a few design schools because we couldn’t pay and we chose one from a Dutch guy who has been doing our packaging for quite a while although we are in the process of changing it now.”

Over the years, the Belize Chocolate Company has continued to grow into a thriving enterprise. Chris and Jo built a 20ftx30ft concrete building on the back of their house where they manufacture the chocolate and remain true to their initial commitment to keep their products 100% Belizean.

They buy their beans directly from indigenous farmers located in Southern Belize, who are of Kekchi or Mopan Maya descent, and their sugar comes from cane farmers in north Belize who have Yucatec Maya heritage.

Chris explains: “We really have a lot of personal relationships with the farmers. When we first started we worked with a co-operative in Punta Gorda and they introduced us to a few. Before COVID we’d travel down every month during the growing season to visit the farms and select the beans we want.”

In 2012, after Jo finished the Professional Chocolatier Programme with Ecole Chocolat in Canada, the couple opened Belize’s first chocolate boutique.

Similar to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory in the famous Roald Dahl story, Chris and Jo’s shop is a chocoholic’s idea of heaven.

It offers a vast selection of dark, milk, and white chocolate-based products combined with Belizean ingredients such as coconut, pineapple, banana, Belizean citrus blossom honey, sea salt, sesame, cashew, rum, and even the local beer Belikin Sorrel Stout from the Belize Brewing Company.

Visitors to the shop can also enjoy a full menu of chocolate drinks and purchase unique chocolate gifts.

Chris and Jo reveal: “The vision initially was wholesale but once we started realising the potential of the product we jumped into retail with the shop in San Pedro and now the second shop on Caye Caulker.

“In our stores it’s all about chocolate. We offer a whole chocolate experience and everything has a real chocolate twist to it. We even do chocolate rubs, whips, and body products.”

The pair have received grant funding from the Caribbean Export Development Agency to facilitate their expansion which they used to purchase roasting equipment to improve their capacity. They are also transitioning to renewable energy and are installing solar panels on the existing factory.

By the end of the year, they plan to build one factory that will also be powered by solar or wind energy. They currently employ 14 people, although during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic they had to cut their staff to three.

Chris says: “Around 80% of our clients in the shops are tourists and about 20% are locals so we were badly impacted by the COVID crisis. The last couple of months though it’s picked up and we’ve been busy, so we could hire people back.”

Jo adds: “We have five different facilities, and four of them we pay rent on, so during the pandemic we realised how crucial it is to get one factory where we can consolidate production. That is essential moving forward.”

The couple are hoping the new factory will be on stream by the end of 2021, and that should enable Chris and Jo to continue Belize’s ancient art of making chocolate for many years to come.

Sea moss, also referred to as Irish sea moss, is a type of red seaweed or algae found around the shores of the Caribbean, North America, and Europe.

On several Caribbean islands, sea moss has been used medicinally for centuries, but it has recently become increasingly popular around the world as a so-called superfood because of its various health benefits.

Pure or unrefined sea moss is high in antioxidants, vitamins A, B, C and D and contains zinc, iron, magnesium, potassium, and iodine.

Sea moss is also versatile as it can be made into a jelly and added to all kinds of foods including smoothies, sauces, and soups. It can also be blended with milk, sweeteners, and other ingredients to make a healthy drink. 

Over 25 years ago, Dominican entrepreneur John Robin realised the potential for sea moss when he was studying in Canada for an associates degree in fisheries development.

John started working on a project around seaweed and that’s when he got the idea for his business Benjo’s Seamoss.

He recalls: I realised in the Caribbean that we have lots of people who know about sea moss in the various islands but nobody had commercialised it or made it readily available. My idea was to globalise the production and distribute sea moss around the world.

Seaweed presents tremendous backward linkages for agriculture in Dominica and the Caribbean. Seaweed has around 2,500 different applications so we need to utilise the potential of this product. Beverages is just one aspect.

When John returned to Dominica he set about researching ways to bottle sea moss, extend its shelf life, and build a Caribbean brand on the same level as American soft drinks giant Coca Cola.

He joined with a partner to establish his company and, after overcoming some initial spoilage and product development issues, they created their meal in a bottle concept which touted the nutritional health benefits of sea moss.

John explains: By consuming seaweed on a regular basis, the body can be purged of some of the impurities that we ingest through our food, water, and even the air that we breathe. The minerals in seaweed are also in the right quantities for the body to absorb and use on a daily basis, that’s why there is a global demand for sea moss right now.

Benjo’s Seamoss is made from seaweed that has been cultivated in the Caribbean. It currently comes in eight flavours; original, peanut, oats, linseed, pure, bois band, ginseng and ginger but can be adapted for individual markets.

John says: Once we get the sea moss we store it, wash it, boil and blend it and then mix it with other ingredients. We have a standard and well established formulation. Most people describe our product as the best tasting sea moss in the world.

John characterises his company as one of the most successful projects in the OECS. Benjo’s Seamoss is currently the largest drinks exporter from Dominica with 95% of the product being shipped to 20 countries in the Caribbean and worldwide.

John says the key to growing his company has been consistency along with customer service. We spend a lot of time on market research and continuously listening to the customer, John explains.

We try to determine what the customer needs, we respond to that, and then exceed their expectations. We continue to innovate, introduce new products, and have a professional approach to everything we do.

John is thankful for the support he has received from the Caribbean Export Development Agency, especially in terms of access to regional tradeshows, but wishes there was more emphasis on assisting well-established brands along with start-ups.

He suggests: I really think we need to focus on the movers and shakers in the Caribbean and provide sustainable support in a holistic way rather than a piecemeal offering. Our region has ideas, we have global products, but there is no coordinated strategy to help major exporters and that’s keeping us back.

We have to find ways to create viable, big companies that can impact whole economies by providing employment, generating foreign exchange, and addressing the imbalance of trade in our region.

John has been in business for more than a quarter of a century but he has no intention of slowing down. In fact, he has ambitious plans to advance the reach of Benjo’s Seamoss even further by expanding from a national to a global strategy.

He adds: We want to expand on the operation in Dominica but we also want to do more in different regions in the world. Shipping is expensive so it makes more sense to set up a factory in the US, Asia or Europe.

We want to be a truly global brand.

The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) in collaboration with the International Trade Center (ITC) – the joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization – invites you to take a 10-minute survey to shape its service offering for Caribbean businesses to go and grow green through its GreenToCompete Hub. The survey will not take more than 10 minutes of your time and shall be completed before August 13, 2021.

The GreenToCompete Hubs provide integrated solutions and tools for SMEs in the implementation of green business practices such as climate resilience, resource efficiency and circular production practices, compliance to sustainability standards and other market access issues. Hosted by local Business Support Organizations (BSOs) the GreenToCompete Hubs act as one-stop shops for SMEs to build green business strategies and access green finance and international markets for sustainable products. This will allow CARIFORUM SMEs to find new business opportunities and increase their international competitiveness.

The GreenToCompete Hubs are implemented in Ghana, Kenya, Laos, Nepal, Peru, and Vietnam and now the GreenToCompete Hub Programme has recently launched its Regional Hub in the Caribbean hosted by Caribbean Export. This project will initially target SMEs of the countries of Barbados, Saint-Lucia, and Guyana before expanding to the entire region.

As the Region continues to face unprecedented challenges due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caribbean Export recognizes that prioritizing private sector development via innovation and enhanced competitiveness is essential to building a resilient Caribbean. To be successful, boosting trade, investment and strengthening existing partnerships will be vital.

On Wednesday, July 28, 2021, Caribbean Export’s Executive Director, Deodat Maharaj, will join several panelists to participate in a virtual CARICOM-Canada Policy Forum as the Region seeks to further strengthen its partnership with Canada.

These substantive discussions present participants with an opportunity to share their perspective about the key factors for greater Canada- CARICOM cooperation. Caribbean Export commends the High Commissioner of St Kitts and Nevis, H.E. Sherry Tross, for her proactive role in advancing this initiative.

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Considering applying for one of the Caribbean Export Development Agency’s (Caribbean Export’s) grants programs but don’t know how best to utilise the funding to expand and grow your businesses?

Well, we are here to help! We will give you four top projects any business can implement through Caribbean Export’s grant funding.

Caribbean Export is the only trade and development agency in the region with the mandate to support Caribbean businesses in achieving their export potential. One critical pilar to becoming export ready is financial capital. Financial resources have been a major challenge for most regional businesses, resulting in low growth, limited scope, lack of diversification in products and limited access to markets. Caribbean Export over the years have launched various initiatives to provide businesses with much needed financial injection through its grants’ programmes.

Some of the best ways you can utilise the Agency’s grant funding facilities can be through the development of the following projects and actions:

Renewable Energy Projects

Sun, sea, and sand is what the region is known for, and what better way to take advantage of one of the three ‘S’ is by utilising Caribbean Export’s grants program to kick start your renewable energy project. Renewable energy is the use of non-traditional sources as a means of generating energy. The most common renewable energy sources are solar using photovoltaic panels or wind via turbines. The main benefit is the reduction in energy cost. Most businesses site the high upfront cost of such projects, but with a grant from Caribbean Export, companies can now make that bold step into the future of green energy.

Certifications

To export to international markets, regional companies must ensure they meet specific standards, regulations, and that their products and operations are internationally certified. According to the International Standard Organisation (2021) “standards are the distilled wisdom of people with the expertise in their subject matter who know the needs of the organisations they represent – people such as manufacturers, sellers, buyers, consumers, trade associations, user or regulators”. Standards cover quality, safety, sanitary practices, and best practices of business operations. They keep consumers safe and provide guidelines to businesses.

Through a Caribbean Export grant, your business can start the process of becoming certified. Our funding facility provides firms with the opportunity to critical assess operations and products, acquire consultation and training from experts, develop a plan and initiate change towards the goal of certification.

Website Development

One thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us, other than the importance of washing your hands, is the importance of utilising ICT tools in reaching your target market and beyond. With multiple lock downs, restrictions on movement and social distancing protocols customers have moved away from in store purchases to online shopping. The demand for online access to goods and services has sharply increased. Many businesses were caught on the back foot as they rushed to create an online presence to facilitate customers during the pandemic. Although restrictions have been lifting, businesses have come to realise the critical nature of having an online presence. This is the new normal! A website coupled with a social media presence allows businesses to connect with their customer base, expand to new markets and reach new customers, reduce cost of market penetration, and reduce the cost of marketing.

It’s a win-win for all!

Grant funding can be used to create the web base and social media presence your business needs, especially in these challenging times. Caribbean Export can help you meet new customers and expand your export capacity by supporting your digital footprint.

Updating Equipment

Nothing says efficiency more than updating or purchasing new equipment with the latest technological advances to help your business produce more, with greater efficiency and higher levels of quality. There are many reasons and benefits derived from updating a company’s equipment.

• Changing business needs: The pandemic has caused businesses to reinvent themselves. Many companies have found new ways to incorporate new products into their current product lines or business portfolio because of changing business needs and customer demands.

• Increase efficiency and productivity: New equipment reduces processing time, offer automated solutions to manual processes, deliver greater productivity of staff which overall results in cost savings.

• Improve safety: Advances in technology provides greater safety mechanisms with every improvement. Manufacturers are constantly upgrading equipment based on the advice of its consumers on safety challenges encountered. This makes products easier to use, offer greater security in handling and reduces the risk of damages to both staff and plant.

Updated equipment keeps a business on the cutting edge and is a rewarding initiative. Caribbean Export through its grant funding programs provide beneficiaries with the capital assistance needed on such projects.

These four easy projects are sure ways in which Caribbean Export’s grant funding can assist your business in its development goals of increasing production capacity, diversifying your product portfolio and expanding into new markets.

Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to ensure you receive the details of the next opportunity to apply for a grant.