FCIB and UWI sign MOU

Young entrepreneurs at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus will benefit from a new programme supported by FirstCaribbean International Bank. The Bank has pledged grant funding of US$45,000 to provide seed capital on a competitive basis to graduates of the UWI Cave Hill’s Student Entrepreneurial Empowerment Development (SEED) programme to help them start businesses.{{more}} The SEED programme is designed to encourage and develop entrepreneurship, self-reliance and innovation.

The support has been pledged by FirstCaribbean under a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) initialled this afternoon by Chairman of FirstCaribbean International Bank Michael Mansoor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Cave Hill Campus Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, at FirstCaribbean’s headquarters at Warrens, St. Michael, Barbados. This is the third consecutive MOU between the University and the Bank, covering a three year period. The MOU will serve as a framework within which the two institutions will collaborate in support of regional development and for the mutual benefit of both institutions and will benefit students and researchers on all UWI campuses.

The Memorandum provides for the Bank’s disbursement of US$375,000 to the UWI in equal tranches of US$125,000 in each of the three years 2010 to 2012 and the partnership commitment covers the following broad areas:

1. The Advancement of Knowledge and Understanding of Issues Affecting Business, Trade and Financial Services in the Caribbean Context;

2. The Support and Development of UWI Students Around The Region;

3. Enhancement of Research in Banking and Finance at UWI;

4. Mutual Use of Services and Joint Pursuit of Mutually Beneficial Business and Corporate Image Enhancement Opportunities.

Student support and development will account for more than half of the grant, with US$112,500 allocated to continue to cover 15 annual scholarships over the three year period. Each scholarship is valued at US$2,500 to UWI undergraduate and/or graduate students. Another new feature of the agreement is a pledge of US$41,250 towards the

establishment of a pilot graduate placement programme at the Cave Hill Campus to facilitate students’ transitioning to the world of work.

The MOU will provide continued support to UWI researchers on the three campuses to enable them to conduct research on issues of importance to the banking and financial services sector through a new grant of US$86,250. The UWI Case Study Development Project has also received a further grant of US$75,000 over the three years and the Bank has indicated its intention to continue as official sponsor of the annual Frank Worrell Memorial Lecture.