Kenrife Matthias, the founder and Social Media Strategist at Kencept Solutions initially heard about the OECS Techie Cohort in 2021 when fellow Vincentian Cenus Hinds – Digital Specialist and owner of Cariway participated in the OECS Techie Cohort 1.
The OECS Technology Ecosystem Competitive Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
(TECHIE) is a Virtual Business Incubator and Accelerator Program designed and implemented by GBest for nationals of 6 OECS territories: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The program targets a cross-section of industries within the OECS region and affords
participants with seed capital, coaching and mentorship, ICT support and product/service
readiness while educating them on Understanding Financial Statements, Scaling for the Regional Market, Digital Marketing Essentials and Contractual Relationships to mention a few.
Matthias was prompted by an email in March of this year from the CED that alerted a call for application submissions. However, after three(3) highly intense stages he was told that although he presented a strong interview that others had ranked higher thus omitting him from the cohort. But fate would have it that a week later he received an email stating that he was reserved a spot.
Six (6) months after, the program which concluded last Thursday 24th November, 2022 with a Pitch competition saw Matthias walking away with USD$5,000.00 for his business Kencept Solutions — a digital marketing company that helps businesses boost their online presence with website development, content writing, logo and graphic design, photography services and
social media marketing and management services. He plans to integrate several ICT tools to help provide better value to his clients by improving the efficiency and delivery of his services.
His advice to budding entrepreneurs is to believe in themselves, surround themselves with a strong support system, and keep learning and applying themselves to their passions and
aspirations.