Managing Director of​ Imoro, Portia Doyle receiving the Minister’s Award from Minister of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Kerrie Symmonds, during the Small Business Association’s Virtual Awards recently. (GP)

Minister of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Kerrie Symmonds, has lamented the absence of QR Codes affixed to labels of local products.

He believes that writing QR Codes is a small business endeavour that can assist others to develop their own businesses in writing the codes.

Minister Symmonds offered this suggestion recently as he addressed the Small Business Association’s Virtual Awards Ceremony, at the Harbour Road Headquarters.

He told the audience that he had “been making it his business” to examine Barbadian products in establishments and was startled by the inadequacy of the use of QR Codes.

“I think I should underscore it and I think that we must work collaboratively because first of all, the writing of QR Codes is also a small business endeavour which can help other persons to develop their own businesses. Beyond that, I think it empowers all of our enterprises in the context of making them more export ready,” Mr. Symmonds underlined.

He continued: “Remember at all times that consumers wherever there are want to know what they are investing in. They want to know the history of the product, they want to know the background, the ingredients, the inputs etc., and I have seen the QR Codes on a bottle of water from overseas why shouldn’t it not be on a bottle of water right here in Barbados?”

The Small Business Minister also alluded to the role of the Barbados National Standards Institution (BNSI) going forward. He explained that the standards body must be called on to lend assistance.

“Whether you are involved in a service, whether you are a producer of goods as a manufacturer, there is no role that you play that does not provide for the BNSI to lend you assistance either by way of helping you achieve certain standards and best practices, helping you achieve accreditation which is vitally important, certification which demonstrates the fact that you have done the achievement and helping you past certain basic tests,” Mr. Symmonds underlined.

He said we must work on satisfying the demands of the Barbadian public before we were ready to meet the rigorous expectations of external trade.

During the virtual awards ceremony, Imoro was presented with the Minister’s Award and the Micro Business category award; Courtyard Caterers emerged the winner in the Small Business Category, and they also received the 2020 Entrepreneurial Award.

COSCAP copped the Group Membership category award and DWP Saturnia Travertini Italia, the Business Start Up Award. The President’s Award went to Southpaw Grafix.

julie.carrington@barbados.gov.bb

Pin It on Pinterest