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Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) are being encouraged to reach the global market by employing creative innovative and technological solutions.
The encouragement came yesterday from Small Business Minister, Dwight Sutherland, as he addressed the start of a workshop entitled: Capitalising on the Cultural, Creative and Climate Change Industries hosted by the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries and the Caribbean Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Livelihood, at Harbour Industrial Estate.
“You can never reach the world through paper; electronic or e-commerce is the way to go. E-commerce has enabled small and micro businesses to integrate into the international trading system creating what is known as the Micro-multinational,” said the Minister who is also responsible for Entrepreneurship and Commerce.
Acknowledging that Government was committed to transforming Barbados into a digital economy and society, he told participants that the internet and especially social media had become an international standard for domestic and international trade.
Minister Sutherland said: “The Government’s promise to create smart cities, including free and basic Wi-Fi supported by high-speed internet connection throughout Barbados should have already served as an appetiser for all MSMEs to adopt the use of technology in the advertising, marketing and sale of their creative and innovative products and services; and to pay for goods and services through the use of digital currencies.”.
The Minister offered three initiatives to ensure youth were embraced and the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity were pushed. These he listed as transforming the Barbados Cultural Industries Development Authority (BCIDA) into an institution that can effectively export products and human resources to the rest of the world, redesigning the curriculum in our schools to prioritise science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) and introducing a Youth Innovation Award.