ANDRE WORRELL
Broadening the economic base of any society requires that entrepreneurially-minded individuals with innovative business ideas be given the right levels of support and investment to turn their ideas or "passion projects" into viable enterprises.
To achieve such a task, in 2011 the Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development designed the National Integrated Business Incubation System (IBIS). At its core, IBIS is centred around providing a mix of business development, infrastructural, operational and financial support to assist in the growth–and success–of small businesses.
In a wide ranging interview with the Business Guardian, IBIS programme manager David Roberts discusses how the programme has evolved, what makes it unique, and how it continues to fan the entrepreneurial flame in these trying economic times.
From his office in El Soccoro, San Juan, Roberts oversees and manages the operation of the IBIS programme.
Questioned about the genesis of IBIS, Roberts said: "The programme was developed by the ministry but is implemented, funded and managed by the National Entrepreneurship Development Company (NEDCO). The ministry, having assessed the local entrepreneurial landscape, recognized that there was a need for additional support in addition to what was being provided by NEDCO and IBIS was the vehicle they developed to fill that void."
Asked pointedly about the aim of the programme, Roberts stated that ultimately, building successful enterprises is what it endeavours to achieve.
He said: "IBIS seeks to provide support for entrepreneurs to increase their likelihood of success. That support is provided across four broad areas namely training, mentorship, the provision of office space and financing."
Detailing the four areas of support further, Roberts noted the integrated manner in which IBIS caters to the entrepreneur's needs.
He said: "The training that is offered by IBIS involves pre-incubation training which covers major areas of a business such as operations, financial management, IT, legal requirements and marketing. Also under training we have continuous training which takes place while clients are in incubation that caters to the changing nature of the business environment. Our continuous training is usually done in tandem with organizations with whom we have relationships such as Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School, COSTAATT or UWI. Training is also facilitated through our partnership with the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce"
Turning his attention to mentorship, Roberts highlighted the need for small business owners to benefit from the experience of those who have been successful business operators.
He said: "The mentorship that is provided is one-on-one mentorship with professionals who have succeeded in their own way in running businesses giving of their time and expertise to IBIS clients. We have found the one-on-one model of mentorship to work well for clients since they receive the personal, individualized attention that their business would require. We have in our cadre of mentors persons who have experience across a wide range of sectors and persons with both regional and international business experience. We believe that it is important for our small business owners to learn and be provided with insights about business from those who have walked the path before them."
On the point of office space, Roberts stated that he is all too aware of the challenges small business owners faced in acquiring affordable space to ply their trade.
He said: "Because we are aware of the frustrations that small business owners face in terms of being able to afford commercial office space out of which to work, we provide space at our locations for companies in incubation. So at our sites in Diego Martin, Point Fortin, Sangre Grande and El Soccoro IBIS clients have access to subsidized office space from which they can do meetings, make presentations or even host a mixer. Additionally, for females business owners in the programme having access to a space away from their homes provides them with a measure of safety and security."
Turning his attention to financing, Roberts defined the parameters within which businesses were funded.
He said: "The programme provides financing up to $100,000. We offer a repayment period of up to five years with a moratorium on repayment up to six months. Our funding also comes with an interest rate of ten per cent."
Roberts was quick to point out, however, that entering the programme did not guarantee that businesses would be funded.
He said: "There are two mandatory areas of the programme. Those two are mentorship and training. Businesses in the programme are required to prepare a business investment proposal (BIP) from which funding for the business would be considered. Once the BIP is determined to be feasible a pathway to funding from NEDCO is created."
Since its inception in 2011, over 200 businesses have been accepted into the IBIS programme. Probed about the details behind the numbers, Roberts offered the following breakdown.
He said: "To date, 273 businesses have been accepted into the programme. Of those accepted, we now currently have 123 in incubation with 81 generating sales."
Asked about the length of the incubation phase, Roberts pointed out that the period of time varies from business to business. He said: "The programme has stipulated a maximum incubation period of three years however businesses within different sectors, with different models will take different periods of time in incubation. So even though the stipulated period is three years, we decided to set up certain key performance indicators (KPI's) to monitor and track the progress of businesses in the programme. Once businesses have achieved those targets, whether it be in six months or all the way to the full three years, they would be ushered out of the programme accordingly."
Slowdown impact
Questioned as to whether the recessionary environment has had any impact on businesses wanting to be a part of the programme, Roberts noted that there had been a marked increase in interest for the programme.
He said: "There has definitely been an increase in businesses wanting to be a part of the programme. In some cases, the reality of persons losing their jobs is forcing them to turn hobbies into businesses while in others, witnessing family and friend losing their jobs in motivating individuals to take stock and create alternative avenues to earn income via businesses to safeguard their standard of living."
Asked about the types of businesses that the IBIS programme typically caters to, Roberts said the mix was eclectic.
He said: "Coming out of IBIS we have persons involved in a wide array of businesses. We have supported businesses in food processing, mobile applications, to businesses operating in the fashion industry. We've even had businesses in the 3-D Printing sector as part of the programme. So it is really a diverse range of businesses."
When asked if any of the businesses offered scalable, export-oriented enterprises capable of earning foreign exchange, Roberts said yes, but with a few steps that had to be passed through along the way.
He said: "Many of the businesses have foreign exchange earning capabilities however because we are taking businesses from the micro-enterprise level, we try to get them to first get their business cemented in their community, then looking for a national presence and then into export markets.
"Developing along this train, even though some businesses are solid enough that they can skip steps, allows the businesses to correct any measures that need augmenting along the way and better prepare them for what the demands of the foreign market will be."
Roberts was keen to note that as manager of the IBIS programme he was determined to keep pushing it forward and broadening its reach.
He said: "Over the medium term, we hope to deepen partnerships to ensure that there is greater cohesion with other state agencies and greater coordination across the entrepreneurial development landscape. Over the long term we hope to develop the skillset to handle more sophisticated entrepreneurs so that as their business evolve and become more complex we can move in lockstep with their needs and offer the support that they would require."