JOBS Launch - Remarks Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. D. Brent Hardt

          On behalf of the Embassy of the United States of America in Bridgetown, I am very pleased this afternoon to be participating in the launch of this dynamic  new partnership between Indiana University and University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill School of Business.  This partnership is designed to support the CHSB's ambitious goal of becoming the premier academic institution in the region for entrepreneurial studies through the development and expansion of its Centre of Excellence for Entrepreneurial Studies. 

          When I returned to Barbados in May of 2008, one of the first official events I attended was the opening of the new rum facility at Foursquare in St. Philip.  The late Prime Minister Thompson offered remarks on the occasion that was a call to arms in support of entrepreneurship in Barbados.  He noted that, in earlier times, Barbadians had been highly entrepreneurial with many smaller shops and businesses, but that over the years, Barbadians had turned increasingly to jobs in government and the professions.  He made clear that he believed Barbados' future success required recapturing this entrepreneurial spirit through a renewed creativity and willingness to take risks. He later encouraged Barbadians to double the country's cohort of entrepreneurs from the current 13,000 to 26,000 by the year 2016. 

          Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has affirmed his strong personal support to the growth of entrepreneurship in Barbados.  In his address to the Barbados National Entrepreneurship Summit last year, he affirmed his vision for Barbados to become a Centre of Entrepreneurial Excellence by the year 2020.  He has demonstrated his Government’s support for the growth of entrepreneurism through the National Information and Communication Technologies 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, which is designed to encourage a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

          From President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to all of us here at Embassy Bridgetown, the United States is committed to supporting the growth of entrepreneurism in the Caribbean and beyond.  In fact, President Obama hosted a two-day Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in 2010 which brought together over 250 businesses from 50 countries.  Secretary Clinton’s global message on entrepreneurship, which we transmitted here via video during the Embassy-sponsored event marking Global Entrepreneurship week in 2009, emphasized the Obama Administration's desire to boost entrepreneurism, especially where talent is present but opportunity sometimes is not.  In her visit to Barbados in June 2010, the Secretary reiterated her abiding commitment and intent to support entrepreneurship in the region.  And that is why we are here today. 

          The partnership between the CHSB and Indiana University stems from a USAID worldwide initiative to promote post-secondary skills training.  Through this global initiative, post-secondary education institutions are encouraged to include core courses in business, such as planning and management, financial planning and market analysis for their graduates or to tailor programs to include non-traditional courses more relevant to the local setting. The goal is to prepare graduates who have an entrepreneurial spirit, whatever their area of study, to consider starting their own small business, to create jobs or to fill positions in growth sectors.  

          When this initiative was announced globally just over a year ago, our very entrepreneurial USAID/Barbados mission was the first out of “the block” to respond and secure funding to pool with its own resources to support a US$1.5 million partnership over four years.  In this regard, I would like to convey my appreciation for the leadership and creativity of our USAID Director Jim Goggin and our Program Officer Mansfield Blackwood who were the driving forces behind this initiative. 

          From being quick out of the blocks, there was still a long race to run.  From that point, USAID Washington, which has an agreement with the American Council on Education, managed a nationwide solicitation process among U.S. universities to develop an appropriate higher education partnership for UWI.  USAID/Barbados in dialogue with the CHSB developed the proposal, which was then used in a highly competitive process to select the best partner University for this project from among over twenty inquiries from U.S. institutions.  This led to a short list of six universities that submitted proposals to partner with the CHSB. 

          After a rigorous peer review process, the Indiana University, through its Kelley School of Business, was selected as the ideal partner to support the CHSB in achieving its goal of establishing its Centre of Entrepreneurial Excellence.  The Kelley School of Business is consistently ranked as one of the top business schools in the U.S. by BusinessWeek, U.S. News and World Report and the Wall Street Journal.   And so this “marriage” between the CHSB and Indiana University represents a pairing of two excellent institutions.  It is also significant for us, as it was through USAID’s support almost 20 years ago (April 17, 1991) that the CHSB came into being under the name “Centre for Management Development.”  I trust that you will agree that20 years later, with CHSB's outstanding track record, that this has been a fruitful partnership.  

          In recognition of the vital role that entrepreneurship plays in the growth of economies and the expansion of the opportunities in the Caribbean, we are pleased that this venture will not only serve Barbados, but will also support countries throughout the Eastern Caribbean.  Entrepreneurship is a personal, subjective process.  Becoming an entrepreneur is an evolution of encountering, assessing, and reacting to a series of experiences, situations, and events.  These diverse and ever-changing circumstances require the entrepreneur to be resourceful, imaginative and, above all, persistent!  The development of an entrepreneurial skills base, both here in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, will serve to nourish that persistence and expand the appetite to grow one’s business both locally as well as across borders.  

          I would like to commend those who have helped frame the program's focus.  By targeting niche areas such as cultural entrepreneurship, alternative energy initiatives, high-tech ventures, and social entrepreneurship, you will help to generate opportunities in critical sectors for the future.   By offering both short-term and long-term programs, you will allow for a flexible and responsive build-out of the entrepreneurial curriculum.  I understand that this will be reinforced by an expansion of the research capabilities at the CHSB, as well as the strengthening of business incubators and other hands-on learning activities.  The goal of training over 1,000 persons by the end of the third year of the program is laudable.  When it is achieved, it will release the creative energies of the students, who will find the ideas, grab the opportunities, take the risks, and set aside comfort…perhaps…to start up new businesses and create new jobs. 

          The United States Embassy is truly pleased to be part of this important launch today.  We assure you of our continued support to building economic opportunity in Barbados and the Caribbean region through the creation of partnerships such as this between CHSB and the Indiana University. 

Thank you.