MoBay microentrepreneur calls for CARICOM unity

Claudia Gardner, Assignment Coordinator

WESTERN BUREAU:Montego Bay-based leather designer and microentrepreneur, Baldwin Dulston, says CARICOM governments will have to put more effort into staging events to facilitate Caribbean integration if the goals of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) are to be realised.

Speaking with Western Focus following the Fifth Caribbean Microfinance Forum (CMF V), which was held in Montego Bay last week, Dulston said CARICOM could follow the lead of the CMF V, which was staged to bring together industry players, including executives of financial intermediates and urban and rural young entrepreneurs from across the Caribbean.

"I think this is what the CSME really requires at this point in time. If you want to seriously energise or empower the Caribbean space, this is the kind of interaction and approach that this destination will need to have. I can recall that they used to have Caribbean Marketplace down in Barbados where artists and artisans would have gone, and they would have exhibitions. I don't find that happening anymore," Dulston said.

"CMF V is a scale-down of what is really needed out there. If we are one space and one community, there should be, at some point in time, a sense of oneness, be it share the food, share the culture, the arts, sharing your experience, share just about everything so that we can have a oneness among ourselves."

He added: "This would help to eliminate some of the hard lines that are drawn against each other because there is a sentiment out there that some parts of the Caribbean destination are a little bit harder against some other destinations within this space, but we wouldn't want to focus on that. What we would want to do is look for solutions," he said.

The CMF V was funded by the Multilateral Investment Fund, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union, the Caribbean Development Bank, and the Citi Foundation Key.

Balando Design

Dulston owns and operates Balando Design leather store in Montego Bay and was one of several producers from western Jamaica specially invited to the CMF V by the organisers of the event to showcase their products. He said the CMF V provided for him an excellent marketing opportunity and a platform to extend his reach to the rest of the Caribbean and beyond.

"It was very informative and impactful because you got a more realistic global picture of what is happening out there. It was a very good move and was very empowering," he said.

"I got the opportunity to have discussions with two microfinanciers, but in terms of sales, it wasn't as one expected, but it was reasonable. But I can tell you one thing for sure: If you are able to have a few hundred people at a particular space, and even if 10 per cent of that number walk away with a business card from you, it means that you would have excelled in your marketing capacity. More people found out about you, therefore, it means you would have become more popular," Dulston added.

Dulston said he was happy that he had the opportunity to meet and share experiences and information with his Caribbean compatriots as well as to foster working relationships with them.

"I found out that people from the (rest of) Caribbean really appreciate that which we have to offer: the arts and the craft. We spoke at length. People were excited to speak to their fellow Caribbean neighbours and they were able to share their own opinions. I got the opportunity to speak to people and I got to find out what is happening in other destinations. That matters a lot to me," he said.

"I think we need to have more of these events. It helps to enhance microbusinesses. It helps to create a kind of interaction, and sharing of information is always important in a destination like the Caribbean," he added.