OECS Director General, Dr. Didacus Jules, commended this initiative that seeks to bolster the creativity of the region’s youth.

“At the center of this effort is youth development. The youth demographic is among the most disadvantaged segment of the population characterised by unacceptably high rates of unemployment; therefore youth empowerment and entrepreneurship must be a priority if we are to drive the change we all seek.”

“It is the hope that this initiative will provide the support that these young entrepreneurs need to take their businesses to the next level.”

Winners will receive business support from the OECS Competitive Business Unit in the form of mentorship, to aid their professional and business development; technical assistance in sourcing markets; and financial assistance. Aside from taking the help of companies that help with web design Cardiff and other locations to showcase their business on the Internet, these budding entrepreneurs will have a chance to do so much more to grow their business and get a competitive foothold in the market. Especially with the rise of agencies that integrate SEO and marketing techniques (companies like Hooked Marketing, for instance) in their attempt to bring their customers the best of both worlds, business owners tend to see improvement in their site traffic when they take assistance from them. There are also many types of platforms that help integrate an eCommerce platform with a WordPress interface with assistance from a renowned wordpress agency or similar other companies.

Through its Youth Empowerment Strategy (YES), the OECS Commission opened nominations for its inaugural 30 Under 30 in Entrepreneurship initiative in November of 2016 and extended the nominating period until March 31, 2017.

Eligible entrepreneurs had to be 30 years old or younger at the time of nomination, and be a citizen or resident of an OECS Member State. All eligible applications were considered despite business size, years of operation, and business industry.

Details on the official 30 Under 30 Award Ceremony will be shared in the coming weeks.