Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 3rd Edition

Our Competitive Advantage 82

The Caribbean faces many challenges in achieving sustainable development. Unemployment and its consequences, the threat of climate change, and high levels of public debt threaten to place the region on a downward spiral. Development professionals have all called for a number of broad interventions such as diversifying into higher value-added exporting sectors, promoting an entrepreneurial spirit , and exploiting the region’s indigenous advantages. ICT as a facilitator and a productive sector, ecotourism, renewable energies, the cultural industries and the promotion of indigenous products in international markets are oft-referenced in these forums. Yet again, women entrepreneurs are pioneering in these areas in the Caribbean. A stone’s throw from the women vendors in Stabroek Market in Georgetown, Guyana, there is GeoTechVision Enterprise, a provider of ‘innovative spatial technologies and business ICT solutions’ . 7 The company also has offices in Jamaica. A key player in the knowledge economy of the region, GeoTechVision was founded by the current Managing Director, Valrie Grant. Ms. Grant is highly educated, with both graduate and postgraduate degrees 8 . Operating in a male-dominated field, she is described as ‘a woman of character and strength’, a ‘powerhouse’ with ‘tenacity, creativity and sheer determination to succeed’.

She is also a mentor to other women entrepreneurs, and is aware of the gender imbalance in business in the region due to traditionally held beliefs and cultural norms that: ‘men are business leaders, bigger risk takers than women, and so sometimes there is the hesitation to give females equal opportunities’ 9 . She was quick to realise that as a woman in business in the Caribbean, education and experience were not enough. While education may not be enough, it appears that Caribbean women entrepreneurs have not allowed the bland confines of their academic training to curb their entrepreneurialspirit. WithofficesinBarbadosandAntigua, Megapower Ltd. is involved in importing environmentally- friendly electrical vehicles (EVs) and providing renewable- powered charging facilities. The ethos of the enterprise is environmental stewardship and sustainability 10 . Joanna Edghill is the co-founder (along with her husband Simon Richards)andManagingDirector. An EnergyEntrepreneur , she holds both graduate and postgraduate qualifications. As with all truly entrepreneurial projects, Megapower started with recognition of a niche. While the original goal was to provide charging stations, the pair recognised that no local car dealerships were importing EVs, and, coupled with unsolicited requests, the company expanded into this area 11 . The drive of this energy entrepreneur is not only

Valrie Grant of GeoTechVision

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