WINCAP gives women tools to grow their businesses

infoDev-certified AP Facilitators Glenda Joseph Dennis, Managing Director of CARIFIC Ltd and Georgina Terry, The Passions to Profitability Expert and Managing Director of BPD Associates Limited, worked with the businesswomen since March, showing them how to leverage networks, grow their market share, and increase their use of technology. One even secured a deal with Whole Foods in the US.

The 14 women selected for the programme were Danielle Small (The Business Boutique), Essenese Sambury (Hair for Divas and Caribbean School of Cosmetology), Gillian Bellamy (Maracas Business Centre), Janine Mendez Franco (The New Cheeze), Laci Joseph (Just Bee You Beauty Products), Lavaughn Marin (Marin Engineering Services Limited), Leesa Ann Reize (Perfect Peppers), Melissa Williams (Creativeroomz Wholesale Trading), Mweia Elias (Empower Nutrition Limited), Rebecca Cockburn (RMC Language Consultancy), Romain Hepburn (L’Image Parfaite Clinique De Beaute Ltd.), Sarah Lezama (Lezara Consultancy Services), Sueann Ramsingh (Inspired Technologies Ltd), and Zakiya Mills-Francois (ZM Image Consultants Limited).

Danielle Small, who had previously participated in the WINC Grow Your Business Workshop in St Lucia in 2013, appreciated the knowledge and value that WINCAP could to her business, especially since she opened her first brick and mortar store in January this year. The Business Boutique, which is located on the lower ground floor of the Cross Crossing Shopping Centre in San Fernando, retails professional business clothing for women as well as Rommanel jewelry and a curated collection of handmade and local gift items. “It has been a wonderful experience,” Small said. “The facilitators are excellent. The group of women are extremely supportive and have created a dynamic network. I have begun to implement many of the marketing strategies to help grow my business.” Sarah Lezama, whose Lezara Consultancy Services caters to small and medium enterprises, said: “When I heard about WINCAP, I thought it was an ideal opportunity for me to get the support I required to project my business in the direction I wanted it to go.” Her company offers a range of business services, including accounting, strategic planning and implementation, business plans, company bylaws, budgets, forecasting, policy writing, procedure writing and implementation, training and system implementation (procurement, accounting and filing).

She’s confident that the network that WINCAP exposed her to is one that she can depend on in the future.

Valedictorian Lavaughn Marin owns Marin Engineering Services Limited, which provides general electrical installation (residential, commercial and industrial) and specialty lighting systems, as well as maintenance services for the high mast lighting systems at the Ato Boldon, Larry Gomes, Mannie Ramjohn and Dwight Yorke stadia. For her the experience at WINCAP was “extraordinary, encouraging and hopeful, to meet other entrepreneurs who have similar challenges as I do, carrying the weight of having all levels of responsibilities, yet every time we meet we are able to place these issues on the table and find solutions together. Truly amazing!” In addition to learning practical business practices and processes, she says she has learnt the power of trusting her entrepreneurial instinct.