The Tribune

BY ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE BUSINESS REPORTER

anixon@tribunemedia.net

FIVE Bahamian entrepreneurs each received $10,000 in seed funding after emerging as winners of the inaugural Blue Economy Accelerator Pitch Competition, as the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) and the Nature Conservancy (TNC) seek to strengthen businesses while protecting the marine resources underpinning the country’s economy. The competition, hosted through a partnership between TNC and SBDC, forms part of the Impact Funding for Bahama Reefs programme, supported by the Global Fund for Coral Reefs.

The five winners are Aston Symonette, owner of Escape Bahamas; Charles Johnson, owner of Island Bey Coastal; Allison and Dino Longley, owners of Blue Quest Bahamas; Melissa Cartwright, owner of Spa Chicks on the Go; and Alex Pearson, owner of Bahama Mineral Company.

The competition marked the culmination of an eight-week accelerator designed to help Bahamian entrepreneurs develop commercially viable businesses while incorporating conservation and reef-positive practices into their operations.

Mischa Lockhart, TNC assistant programme manager for Impact Funding for Bahama Reefs and project manager for the Blue Economy Accelerator, said the programme was built around the recognition that the health of the country’s marine ecosystems is directly tied to its economic prospects.

“The programme recognises that healthy coral reefs are not only an environmental asset, but are also critical to our tourism industry, fisheries, coastal protection, and our local livelihoods,” she said. “Our goal is to support Bahamian entrepreneurs who are developing businesses that contribute to a thriving blue economy while protecting the marine ecosystems that support our communities and our economy.”

Over the eight weeks, participants received business development support, reef-positive and conservation training, one-on-one mentorship, funding-readiness coaching and networking opportunities. Ms Lockhart said the Nature Conservancy’s particular role was to provide the conservation and reef-positive training, ensuring that the programme went beyond simply helping entrepreneurs establish or grow businesses.

“We want to make sure that we are not only helping the economy, helping the blue economy, of course. Without our natural resources, we won’t have these livelihoods,” she said.

“So it was really important to us not to just support local businesses or small businesses, but to support reef-positive businesses.” She said the programme’s underlying philosophy was straightforward: “A thriving economy depends on a thriving ocean.”

The inaugural cohort began with 12 participants before seven finalists were selected to pitch their businesses. Five ultimately secured the $10,000 awards. Ms Lockhart said the first cohort represented an important milestone for the initiative, particularly because of the work involved in developing training that balanced business development with conservation. “There was a lot of work put into creating the training material, make sure we had the right balance between reef positivity, conservation, and of course business acumen,” she said. “It’s really bringing economics and reef positivity all in one.”

SBDC Director of External Relations Rashard Ritchie said the $50,000 competition was designed to demonstrate that businesses cannot afford to overlook the natural resources on which their commercial activity depends. “We cannot build businesses that do not protect the same resource that caused those businesses to exist and to thrive,” he said. “And so, it is very important that we help businesses develop concepts that actually preserve our oceans and preserve our natural resources.” Mr Ritchie said the accelerator also reflected the broader role of SBDC in helping small and medium-sized businesses access not only capital, but the knowledge required to use that capital effectively. The accelerator’s emphasis on training was also deliberate. Mr Ritchie said participants were paired with mentors with experience in the blue economy, allowing them to refine their concepts and business models throughout the programme.

“Funding without training means that it’s funding that may not garner the kind of success that we would hope,” he said. He added: “Training and mentorship and advisory support is just as critical. And in fact, those three components is what actually makes the funding more impactful,” Ritchie said. He added that mentors reported seeing significant growth among participants between the beginning of the programme and their final pitches. The four cohorts are expected to support between 40 and 48 businesses nationwide. Mr Ritchie stressed that the expansion forms part of SBDC’s broader effort to ensure its programmes reach entrepreneurs throughout the country. He added that the organisation has traditionally supported businesses across a wide range of sectors, but believes there is significant room for entrepreneurs to explore opportunities beyond established industries.“The blue economy, we have only really focused on water sports and ecotourism, but you have energy, you have biotechnology, you have other maritime vessels and marine tourism products,” he said.

He encouraged entrepreneurs to broaden their understanding of where opportunities exist, rather than competing for the same sources of capital in already crowded industries. “There are a lot of other blue economy businesses, and we encourage small businesses in The Bahamas to take advantage of them, access the new dollar, access the new money,” Mr Ritchie said.

The Blue Economy Accelerator’s expansion comes as policymakers and business support organisations increasingly look towards the ocean as a source of economic diversification, while seeking to ensure that commercial activity does not undermine the ecosystems that sustain tourism, fisheries and coastal communities. Ms Lockhart said the programme is ultimately about encouraging entrepreneurs to recognise that economic development and environmental stewardship do not have to operate in separate spaces.

“The importance to actually do it responsibly, sustainably, help the reefs that we’re actually working in,” she said. The pitch competition was judged by SBDC executive Samantha Rolle; Marcia Musgrove, Northern Caribbean Programme Director of the Nature Conservancy; Randy Duncombe, Director of Freight and Logistics at Bahamas Ferries and Bahamas Freight; Lakeisha Anderson-Rolle, Executive Director of The Bahamas National Trust; and Dr Sylvia Dohnert, Private Sector Principal Specialist with the Inter-American Development Bank. The initiative is now set to expand beyond New Providence with Ms Lockhart announcing that three additional cohorts will run through 2027, with the programme moving into the Central, Northern and Southern Bahamas and targeting specific groups of islands during each cohort. The SBDC marked more than $100m in access to funding for small businesses in May, comprising grant funding as well as its guaranteed loan programme. Mr Ritchie said the organisation is continuing to expand its Family Island presence while maintaining its work in New Providence, with the aim of eventually surpassing $200 million in access to funding. “We’re doing more on the Family Islands,” Mr Ritchie said.

“We’re continuing to do our work here on the island of Providence, and so hopefully in another couple of years we’ll be celebrating over $200m.”