Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship Expanding to Barbados, St Lucia, Trinidad

By: - January 21st, 2013

Above: Sir Richard Branson

By Alexander Britell

PARADISE ISLAND – Sir Richard Branson’s Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship will be expanding in the Caribbean, Virgin has announced.

The Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship — Caribbean first opened in Montego Bay by Virgin Holidays in partnership with Virgin Unite in September 2011.

Virgin Holidays pledged $3.5 million to the centre when it opened for a 10-year sponsorship deal.

Now, it will be adding three “virtual” chapters in Barbados, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.

Funding for the centres will come from the Compete Caribbean Initiative.

The Jamaica-based centre has benefited more than 40 entrepreneurs through business incubation services, with 24 jobs created locally.

In February, it will see its fourth intake of aspiring business people in the region.

Barbados

EFM Hospitality's John Murphy on Tobago, Haiti and Caribbean Tourism

Above: the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort By Alexander Britell PARADISE ISLAND — The Caribbean tourism sector is starting to rebound — with improved hotel occupancy and arrivals, despite increased competition from markets around the world. EFM Hospitality Solutions has been one of the Caribbean’s leading hotel developers and operators over the past few decades; its […]

Barbados

St Lucia: European Union Agrees to Fund Housing, Water Projects

Above: St Lucia By the Caribbean Journal staff St Lucia and the European Union signed a pair of agreements this week, covering housing and water projects. “[The] signing ceremony for the financing of two worthy interventions represents the continued cooperation and support that the European Union provides to the government and people of Saint Lucia,” St […]

Barbados

Stuart: Barbados, US in "High-Level" Talks on Rum Subsidies

Above: the Mount Gay Distillery in Barbados (CJ Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff Barbados, other CARICOM states and the Dominican Republic are currently engaged in “high-level” talks with United States officials on the issue of rum subsidies, according to Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. Stuart was speaking at an opening ceremony for Mount Gay […]


Four Seasons Nevis, Antigua's Jumby Bay Among AAA Five Diamond Winners

Above: the Four Seasons Nevis By the Caribbean Journal staff Seven Caribbean hotels and resorts have been named to the AAA Five Diamond Award list, the organization announced Friday. The list includes the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, the Dominican Republic’s Tortuga Bay Punta Cana Resort & Club, the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, Barbados’ Sandy Lane, Antigua […]

World Bank: Haiti's Economy to Grow 6 Percent, Lead Caribbean in 2013

Above: Haiti (Photo: MT Haiti) By the Caribbean Journal staff Haiti will lead the Caribbean in economic growth in 2013, according to a forecast in the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report released Tuesday. That matches a projection by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean released in December. The World […]

Barbados PM: "CARICOM is Safe"

Above: the Four Seasons Nevis By the Caribbean Journal staff Seven Caribbean hotels and resorts have been named to the AAA Five Diamond Award list, the organization announced Friday. The list includes the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, the Dominican Republic’s Tortuga Bay Punta Cana Resort & Club, the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, Barbados’ Sandy Lane, Antigua […]

Trinidad Central Bank "Cautiously Optimistic" on 2.5 Percent Growth in 2013

Above: Port of Spain By the Caribbean Journal staff Trinidad and Tobago Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran is “cautiously optimistic” about a 2.5 percent growth rate for the country’s economy in 2013, he said Tuesday. At the same time, Rambarran said Trinidad’s economy was fragile, with weak growth prospects. “Weak growth domestic-wise and in the […]