BARBADOS; Entrepreneurs urged to be part of energy transformation.

As authorities continue to press ahead with the transformation of the Barbados National Oil Company Limited (BNOCL) into a full-fledged renewable energy provider, entrepreneurs are being challenged to position themselves to take advantage of possible opportunities.
Minister of Energy and Business Development Senator Lisa Cummins made the call on Tuesday as she addressed the opening of a training session for entrepreneurs at the BNOCL.
The four-day workshop, which is being hosted in conjunction with Tradewind Tankers and Hyperion Council at the University of Miami, will see 15 selected entrepreneurs receiving developmental training across several disciplines including social media marketing, business and development leadership, emotional intelligence for business and financial literacy.
Cummins said that as the BNOCL transitions and as Barbados becomes 100 per cent reliant on renewable forms of energy, she wanted local entrepreneurs to be part of the implementation process.
“I am hopeful that partners and stakeholders like those of you gathered in this room today are going to be part not just of that conversation but a part of that execution, implementation, and ultimately that transformation,” she said.
Stating that she was keen to see the development of all segments of renewable forms of energy on the island, Cummins said she was hoping entrepreneurs would seek ways to take the lead.
“It means that small businesses entering the space, I need you to be able to develop what we are describing as a service-level industry.
“Whether we are providing the services that are going to be critical for the transformation with solar PV, in wind – onshore or offshore –, in hydrogen, in new technologies and innovations – we need more of our small businesses to be able to innovate around what that needs to look like, create businesses that are first movers in industry and then, in so doing, not just build local capacity but build export capacity with small businesses that are now successful,” the Energy Minister contended.
She said later this year her ministry would be launching a programme aimed at helping operators of micro, small and medium-sized businesses to scale up their operations. This, she said, will be done in collaboration with funding agencies FundAccess and the Trust Loans Fund (Barbados).
Representative of Tradewind Tankers Mikel Juan Panek said the training for the cohort of entrepreneurs was designed to help them develop the necessary skill set to operate a successful enterprise.
“Our main goal here is to empower . . . the entrepreneurs of Barbados through business development, leadership and entrepreneurial training. We believe that by providing these tools we can contribute to the overall economic growth of Barbados and help build a more sustainable and inclusive society,” said Panek.