By: Valrie Grant, Entrepreneur, Managing Director, GeoTechVision
Starting your own business can be exciting, yet it can be quite a daunting experience. Owning a business presents many advantages; chief among them are being your own boss, having a flexible work schedule, having total control over the work you choose and not having to answer to anyone when making important decisions regarding your business. Becoming a successful entrepreneur though, requires hard work, perseverance, commitment, risk taking, being innovative and creative and so much more.
Starting a business in Guyana or the Caribbean comes with its own unique set of challenges. As Caribbean people, we are noted for being unique, ambitious, extraordinary and usually ready to take on a challenge. A common proverb in my home country Jamaica is ‘Wi likkle but wi tallawah,’ which really means small yet strong and so able to achieve where others may find it impossible. This does not mean it would not be necessary to have an environment that helps you on the way to success. The more facilitating the business environment is, the more likely your venture will have a successful outcome.
Starting a business out of your home may not be the most convenient for some start-ups yet they may find renting space and setting up essential support functions in an office space a financial challenge that can be quite overwhelming. This is just the time when financial resources and energy are most needed for the development of the business. A business incubator can be the perfect alternative in such a situation. Business incubators are designed specifically to help start-ups, grow and become established businesses. Incubators usually provide:
- Flexible space and leases, many times at lower rates than traditional office spaces;
- Fee-based shared business support services, such as telephone answering, bookkeeping, secretarial, fax and copy machine access, conference and meeting rooms;
- Group rates for health, life and other insurance plans;
- Business and technical assistance either on site or through a community referral system;
- Assistance in obtaining funding;
- Networking with other entrepreneurs and sometimes potential mentors;
- Other business services such as business seminars, coaching and preferential treatment of tenants in some situations.
The goal of incubators is usually to assist small businesses to operate in the most efficient, cost effective and professional manner possible. In fact, GeoTechVision got its start in an incubator – the Technology Innovation Centre in Kingston, Jamaica. The company is one of many successful graduate clients.
Having undertaken some research on the need for a business incubator in Georgetown, I was helped to understand the issues and challenges of business owners and also got a unique perspective as to whether a business incubator is a viable solution.
The research highlighted that there is the popular opinion among thought leaders in Guyana, that there is a definite need to comply with international standards to scale up and grow businesses here. There is also the perception that the local competitive environment is not fair to all parties involved and that governance issues should be addressed. There is also a great need for business mentors, but in the absence of that – full-time business coaches and networking can help to fill that gap. It was generally felt that with the appropriate mix of business support services, training and development activities, an incubator would be a viable option in Georgetown.
It is with this in mind, that I feel incubators and accelerators do have a place in Guyana. They provide a means to get start-up businesses off the ground by leveraging the mentorship and business relationship benefits which are usually a core part of incubator or accelerator programme. One may ask what the difference is between an incubator and an accelerator.
The preceding paragraphs would have given a pretty good idea of what an incubator is. A start-up accelerator is similar, but has some distinct differences. Your time in the space is typically limited to a 3-4 month period, which is intended to jump start your business and then put you back into the fierce competitive society. The time spent in an accelerator should however, largely improve your chances of raising venture capital funds from a third party entity after you graduate from the programme.
Incubators and accelerators may not be right for everyone and as such the decision usually comes down to your confidence in the viability of your business idea, your execution skills and ability to raise funding. If your business is already growing at an acceptable pace with all the key ingredients in place, you probably would not need to be part of one of these programmes. However, if you need help to tweak your business or revenue model, to develop your business acumen with the help of experts, proven peers and entrepreneurs, then such programmes could be of immense benefit to you.
The discussions around incubators and accelerators in Guyana has been increasing so if you are interested in learning more about these programmes there are at least three local organizations that you may wish to contact. These are the Small Business Bureau, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry and GeoTechVision.
GeoTechVision was selected as one of the only 10 organizations across the Caribbean to be part of the Accelerate Caribbean Business Incubation Clinic by Infodev (The World Bank Group). Another programme ongoing here in Guyana is the World Bank Women Innovators Network in the Caribbean (WINC) Accelerator Programme for Growth Oriented Women Entrepreneurs. As an accredited facilitator, I have been working with nine growth-oriented women who are ready to propel their businesses to new heights by learning how to leverage technology, networks and talents to grow their business.
Recently, some readers of this column have been asking questions on entrepreneurship. If you have a question related to this article or just a general question on entrepreneurship, write to us at guyanabusinesswise@gmail.com. Your question may be addressed directly or in our next article.
