Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, January 31, 2022: – The ten entrepreneurs from around the region, who have won the first leg of the Goddard Enterprises Ltd (GEL) 100th Anniversary competition, will collect their cheques and trophies on January 31st and February 10th 2022 and meet their mentors as they commence the first year of the competition.
Entrepreneurs from Barbados and St Vincent will be awarded on January 31st while those from Jamaica and Trinidad will receive theirs on February 10th. At the ceremony, the winners will also be introduced to the mentors who will work with them during this first segment of the competition. Each awardee will be assigned two mentors, one Senior GEL Manager and one Financial Controller or Accountant either from Head Office or from one of the company’s subsidiaries.
These ten businesses, on receiving their US$5,000 will commence this first year of the three-year contest. In October 2022, the participants will submit a report when they will again be judged, and the number will be narrowed down to three. Those three will each receive a further US$12,500 to continue to grow and expand their business, then in 2023, the winner will be evaluated from those three finalists and given a final cash injection of US$25,000. That company will also take away the title of Goddard Enterprises 100th Anniversary Entrepreneur Award Winner.
The various companies entered in the competition run the gamut of enterprises. They range from Nella’s Tenda Ronis – a producer of gluten free pasta; Yalla’s Mobile Tyre Service – a service provider and virtual marketplace for tyres; CariWay – an online booking platform for tours that includes virtual reality tours; Alluhwi Comics – a creator of virtual comic books; BB’s Mushrooms – a mushroom farmer; Jem’s Gourmet Chocolates Barbados – a gourmet chocolatier; MedRegis – an electronic health records system; Mike’s Bajan Beverages – a manufacturer of rum punches; Cool Comfortz Frozen Delights – a manufacturer of artisanal frozen desserts and Z-Rise – a community of Caribbean creatives looking to improve the knowledge and skills of creative people.
“We won’t be around, but it is our hope that 100 years from now, one of these companies will be in a position to celebrate their 100th anniversary like GEL has done this past year” stated Anthony Ali, CEO/MD of Goddard Enterprises Ltd.
“This is our way of giving back to the community, and provides a number of small business persons some guidance and direction so that they can better navigate the often difficult waters out there. We want to ensure that their businesses can grow and prosper, so we don’t just want to give them a cheque and leave it there. It is really about succession planning and ensuring a stronger business community going forward” he added.
The names of the ten winning businesses are:
Barbados
Alluhwi Comics
MedRegis
Jem’s Gourmet Chocolates Barbados
BB’s Mushrooms
Mike’s Bajan Beverages
Family of GEL Staff
Cool Comfortz Frozen Delights
Caribbean
CariWay – St. Vincent
Nella’s Tenda Ronis – Jamaica
Yalla Mobile Tyre Services – Trinidad and Tobago
Z-Rise – Jamaica