Several local businesses became better equipped with skills to sell their products and services abroad when Export Barbados (BIDC) and the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) joined forces to host a free ProNET Export Marketing Workshop recently.

Nearly 40 participants registered for the ProNET workshop geared toward building and streamlining their export capabilities. Participants included established manufacturers and small businesses from across the productive sectors. The sessions covered topics such as export readiness, export strategies, market research, export pricing and financing, regulatory compliance and developing an export plan. ProNET trainer Maxine Harris facilitated the workshop.

During the opening ceremony, participants were encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities highlighted for export within the Caribbean and beyond. Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Export Barbados (BIDC) Andrea Burgess noted that the workshop aimed to transform the approach to exporting goods and services from Barbados.

“Networking is key to establishing meaningful connections within your individual industries and within the export arena. During this workshop, we also encourage you to engage in open discussions, share experiences and forge bonds with fellow attendees that will help your businesses to be stronger in the long run. These connections could lead to future collaborations and partnerships. Through this ProNET training workshop, we also aim to empower you with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in the export market,” Burgess said.

ProNET is a training program offered by Caribbean Export for small and medium-sized enterprises looking to grow their businesses and make them more competitive and export ready. JoEllen Laryea, Manager (Ag) – Partnerships, Advocacy & Reporting with Caribbean Export, explained the thinking behind the initiative:

“What we do is that we look at the business service organizations, and we ask them to identify training that they think is necessary for their sectors, knowing their sectors best. For this particular iteration, Export Barbados identified export marketing and product development as two areas they felt would be important for the country right now. So, as such, we chose to start with our Export Marketing program first and follow up with Product Development next month.”

The ProNET Product Development Workshop is scheduled for April 20-21, 2023, and will cover the steps needed to bring a product from concept to market.