in when considering opening
startups. Just over two years ago,
during Business Month, I posed the
question to him: with the plight
many entrepreneurs face, how will
government address these fears.
He said some light was about to
shine at the end of the tunnel for
especially young entrepreneurs.
“Basically, the Saint Lucia
Development Bank (SLDB) has
gotten some young people on that
board. The goal here is that the
(SLDB) needs to channel its lending
through separate entities. Take
TEPA (Trade Export and Promotion
Agency, thereafter named Export
Saint Lucia), for example, which
takes an existing company and
helps it get into the export market.
“If (that company) is going
to borrow money from the
development bank to do that, the
bank knows that the person isn’t
doing so by themselves. So there’s
that support mechanism to help
them grow,” Chastanet explained.
When Naomi Alexander started
her own driving school three years
ago, it was a leap of faith that was
prompted by years of wanting to
become self-employed.
Chastanet, at the time, said
government hoped to open a
new entity called Village Tourism
Incorporated to assist small guest
houses, restaurants and gift
shops in various communities
across the island by giving them
accounting systems, marketing and
management support and training.
He said agencies such as Export
Saint Lucia and Village Tourism
Incorporated can be used
as “incubators”, adding that
government, too, hoped to invest
more funding in small businesses
should its financial situation
improve.
especially Millennials, these forms
of assistance are indispensable for
not only drumming up business but
also creating employment.
After being turned down by local
financial institutions from which
he sought a loan for his startup,
Johanan Dujon did not let up.
Today his business, Algas Organics,
converts sargassum seaweed into
fertilizer which is now exported
across the globe.
“We would like to open up an
agency for the creative industries
that would help people in that
industry develop and hone their
skills and businesses,” Chastanet
said. “I’ve seen too many young
people signing contracts with labels
too early and, therefore, get the
short end of the stick. So the idea
here is to not only develop their
skills as musicians and artists, but
also their business skills in terms of
branding, contracts and so on.”
Across the globe, various measures
are being implemented to assist
small entrepreneurs navigate the
sometimes murky waters of starting
a new business. With many people
hoping to become self-employed,
Take, for example, the city of Tel
Aviv-Yafo, Israel’s financial centre
and technology hub with 405,000
residents. The city has the highest
number of startups per capita in
the world, averaging 28 per every
square kilometre and 1 per every
290 residents.
In fact, the city has been ranked
number two in the World
Top Startup Ecosystems by
StartupGenome. There are more
than 1,500 hi-tech companies in Tel
Aviv, 66% of them startups.
There are more than 40 Accelerator
programmes and co-worker spaces
for startups in Tel Aviv, supported
by the Mayor and Municipality
of Tel Aviv-Yafo. The Municipality
provides support to startups
through tax breaks, subsidized
workspaces and the Startup Visa
project.
www.slyoumag.com | July-August 2019
SL-YOU | Business, People & Lifestyle 71