Caribbean Business Connections (CBC), a networking group established in 2012, is ramping up efforts to boost financial ties between Caribbean entrepreneurs in the USA and enterprise alternatives domestically and of their residence international locations.
Co-founded by Hanif Russell and Sandra McCarty, CBC was launched to handle the necessity for extra assist for Caribbean enterprise house owners in search of to attach, collaborate, and provides again to their communities.
Russell explains that the group started as a month-to-month gathering in native Caribbean-owned institutions, every occasion designed to spice up visibility and gross sales for these small companies. “We needed to ensure we had been placing {dollars} into these entities,” he stated, emphasizing CBC’s dedication to uplifting Caribbean-owned companies by means of intentional group assist. This strategy led many institutions to safe catering contracts and lasting enterprise relationships.
As we speak, CBC’s community consists of over 1,500 enterprise contacts, although the group is restructuring its formal membership system to fulfill evolving wants. Because the pandemic, CBC has tailored by integrating expertise and plans to relaunch a membership construction with new choices, together with entry to mentorship and a useful resource library. The brand new format goals to empower Caribbean entrepreneurs with sources to safe contracts in each non-public and public sectors.
CBC additionally companions with native Chambers of Commerce to higher meet the distinctive wants of Caribbean enterprise house owners. Russell defined, “We join with native chambers, fostering relationships so Caribbean companies can entry the sources they want.”
Seeking to 2025, CBC plans to host sector-focused networking occasions round industries like tourism and healthcare, that are in search of assist. These occasions will enable business leaders to have interaction straight with Caribbean communities and promote tourism and enterprise initiatives throughout the islands.
The group can be creating mentoring packages that join aspiring younger professionals with business leaders, providing profession steerage and networking alternatives throughout numerous fields, from regulation to healthcare and advertising. This mentorship initiative will probably be accessible to Caribbean youth by means of digital platforms like Zoom, making it simpler to bridge the gap.
Caribbean enterprise house owners and supporters can discover the group on social media at Caribbean Biz Connections to remain related or be a part of CBC’s initiatives.
Russell calls on the Caribbean-American group to proceed supporting Caribbean-owned companies, stating, “It’s necessary to foster generational wealth and maintain ties robust with our residence international locations.”
