SVG businesses among 21 Start Ups for EC Green-preneurs Incubator Programme

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in partnership with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have announced that 21 start-ups from the OECS have been selected to participate in the second cohort of the Eastern Caribbean Green Entrepreneurship Incubator programme.

And, at least six of these are from St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Incubator programme is a free, carefully curated training and mentoring programme designed to support green entrepreneurs to build robust and sustainable business models, and the skills, tools, and confidence to implement them for success.

The programme features a 12-week period of virtual green business training based on the lean start-up methodology; a mentorship programme; 1-on-1 coaching and networking opportunities culminating in the Business Plan Competition where up to 10 businesses can qualify for grants of US$10,000.

A release from the OECS states that 93 businesses applied for the programme and 21 were selected after a rigorous screening, evaluation and selection process conducted by a selection committee composed of key stakeholders from the business support network in the Eastern Caribbean.

The selection criteria sought to identify startups with a green focus, strong entrepreneurial mindset, high growth potential and a level of inclusivity among other considerations.

Overall, Green Businesses are considered those offering services and products that support the achievement of environmental/social goals in the country. These include: selling products that offset or reduce imports; selling sustainable/renewable energy or energy efficiency products, services, or equipment; farms or food production businesses that use organic or regenerative agriculture techniques; businesses that reduce energy use or use renewable energy, reduce water use, reduce waste (such as recycling businesses or those that source re-used or local materials), or protect or conserve natural landscapes, address social issues (support vulnerable populations like youth, women, the disabled, reduce inequality/poverty etc ), or increase resilience to climate change (storm-resistant buildings and infrastructure, increased ability to recover from storms/flooding, etc).

The Eastern Caribbean Green Entrepreneurship Initiative was launched in 2021 and is being implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute in collaboration with the OECS Commission with funding from the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD).

The programme also features a green business Accelerator programme, which supports established green business through loan financing and access to a green investor network.

Among the start-ups from SVG are Vermigold – Gordon Shallow; the Plant Doctor – Beth Pitt; and Greenline Dinnerware plate Creation – Chemora Mc Knee.