With small to medium enterprises (SMEs) representing 90 per cent of businesses globally, the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) Ventures Ltd have collaborated on UrpreneurPlus - an acceleration programme for local SMEs three years or younger.
UrpreneurPlus was created in 2018 and promises to guide participants through the stages of the programme to facilitate the development and commercial launch of their products, services and technologies. They also receive access to coaching, training, mentorship and an opportunity to receive funding.
This year eight winners were announced at a reception on Tuesday at UTC's head office in Port of Spain.
The programme has three tiers - tier three gives micro-entrepreneurs $50,000 per company, tier two gives small businesses $250,000 and tier one gives small entrepreneurs who are ready for listing on the junior stock exchange an investment of $1 million.
UTC's executive director Nigel Edwards said the mission is to create and enhance wealth, which is done directly through the company's investment offerings to the public.
Edwards said, "This programme though represents so much more than a corporate social responsibility initiative for UTC, it is the manifestation of the importance to us of collaboration and the role of partnerships. This programme has brought together some of the most critical components to future growth - academia in the shape of UWI, the private sector and government and we are enormously proud to be a part of this movement."
He added that the purpose of the partnership is to contribute to the economic growth of TT, but the selection process was tough and rigorous as there were around 650 applicants selected before the eight winners were chosen.
UWI Venture Ltd's programme co-ordinator Julian Henry addressed the winners, "What you are accessing now is the next step of the journey which is the financial strategy development component. That is where we're going to get involved more."
Web3 Academy, Eco-Wash and Fresh Press Factory won in tier three; Battery Alchemist, Better Spaces by Maya-Marie Tate and Tropical Hives won in tier two; and TriniBakes won in tier one.
The post UTC, UWI announce 8 UrpreneurPlus winners appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.
