Last night in a highly anticipated announcement episode of the Bank on ME show, 12 entrepreneurs were announced as finalists vying for various forms of investment and an attractive prize package including $15000 from presenting sponsor, Scotiabank.

Part 2 of the Audition Show saw 11 of the remaining 24 contestants pitching to the judging panel and the judges debating the merits of each entrepreneur before making their selection.

Those entrepreneurs selected were Barbara Arthur, Specialist Nannies Ltd, Dario Greenidge – Shine Vehicle Care Centre, Derek Went – Went Caribbean Inc, Jamar Odwin – Azure Studios, Janelle Mitchell – Smart Arts Room, Michael Holder – Blessed Rentals Inc, Nicole Howell – Colevon Enterprises, Lia Gajadhar – Radix, Ryan Belle – Five Rare Meats and Natural Wines, Sean Carter – Rhema Cooling and Vallis Jemmott – Notes of Praise Inc.

They will now attend their first workshop “Customer Service” hosted by the National Initiative for Service Excellence (NISE) and meet their Mentors. This workshop will prepare them for their first challenge ‘Building a Branded Customer Experience‘ and they will present to the judging panel, where Kim Tudor, CEO of NISE will be the Guest Judge. The Mentors of the show are from a collective group of successful local entrepreneurs and business owners who voluntarily give of their time to Bank on ME to guide and assist the entrepreneurs throughout the show and beyond.

The NISE Customer Service challenge ‘Building a Branded Customer Experience’ will be shown Tuesday, 3 February on CBC TV8 at 8pm. The contestants will explain their customer service strategy to improve or boost the appeal of their business to customers and potential. They must clearly demonstrate to the judges their on-brand service, particularly their brand personality and at least one brand value.

Each week, the remaining contestants will continue to attend workshops and receive challenges. They will be on judged on how they implement the techniques they learned.

The contestants not selected for the show continue to be engaged in the dynamic Bank on ME development network programme and attend specially devised workshops held by sponsors supporters of the show.

New main judge Eddy Abed said: “This programme not only show cases the talent of our entrepreneurs but also exposes them to a crash course in business 101 via poignant mentoring and tailored workshops. The Barbadian business landscape will be the ultimate winner as these individuals will help in shaping the future of a competitive fulfilling environment that we hope to achieve. I am delighted to play a small part in realizing this timely ideal.”

Viewers this year also have the opportunity to support their favourite entrepreneur from all the contestants by voting for the “People’s Choice” on the Bank on ME website (bankonme.tv) or Facebook page.

Bank on ME is repeated every Monday night on CBC TV channel 8 at 10:35pm.