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Gourmet cupcakes take the cake at Entrepreneurship Boot Camp 2014

For Release Upon Receipt - August 25, 2014

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – A business plan for a gourmet line of premium chocolate cupcakes and desserts, synthesizing an optimal blend of locally grown cocoa and internationally sourced ingredients took the $50,000 first prize in the Entrepreneurship Boot Camp competition jointly held by The University of the West Indies (UWI), the National Entrepreneurship Development Company Limited (NEDCO) and the Entrepreneurial Training Institute & Incubation Centre. The announcement was made at the camp’s closing ceremony on Tuesday August 19, 2014, at The UWI Conference Centre.   

Opening remarks were delivered by Head of the Department of Management Studies, Dr. Acolla Lewis-Cameron, followed by Chairman of NEDCO, Dr. Natasha Ramkissoon-Babwah. 

Next on the programme came the business plan presentations by the four finalists – as a part of the camp’s activities, participants were asked to prepare their own business plans, which were then entered into a Business Plan Competition. After the finalists made their presentations, certificates were distributed to the camp’s graduates, following which, the winners of the Business Plan Competition were announced.  

Timothy McIntosh won the $50,000 first prize for "Decouvre,” the production of a gourmet line of premium chocolate cupcakes and desserts. Timothy gained international renown as a winner of "Cupcake Wars" on Food Network. He graduated with a first degree in chemical engineering from MIT in 2008. He has been involved in the restaurant / catering business since his return to T&T in 2012. 

Sean Aberdeen, the second-place winner, received $30,000 to assist with his plan for "Sport Management Global" (latent business), which provides management support for young athletes to boost their career through a suite of services including sports marketing for teams and players; contract negotiations; networking; event planning and management; player representation, consultation and advice. Sean completed his BSc in Sport Management at UWI this year. He is a keen sportsman and represented T&T at under-14 and under-19 football. 

Terrance Glenn placed third with his business plan "Green Living," receiving $20,000. The company has designed an organic system of production based on aquaponic principles for an integrated aquaculture and agriculture process to produce fish (tilapia & ornamental); seasonings; fresh fruits and other plants. Future development will expand operations to production of seasoned patties; specialty sauces; teas and fresh vegetables. Terrance recently completed his post graduate studies at UWI. The business has been in operation for the past two years and formally registered as an incorporated company in 2014. His wife and a business associate are the other directors. 

In fourth place was Richard Chase with "Palmetto Place," a start-up web and mobile development company involving the provision of web-based marketplace and multimedia display advertising services and solutions to small and medium sized firms through innovative communication and marketing methodologies. Richard has been involved in this activity for the past five years and operates as a registered sole trader. 

The Entrepreneurship Boot Camp 2014 took place from July 21-25, at The UWI Conference Centre. It targeted recent university graduates and final-year undergraduate students and aimed to help them think like entrepreneurs and give them the necessary skills to be one. In addition to receiving insight into the challenges faced by successful entrepreneurs and learning how to write an effective business plan, participants were given the opportunity to develop their own plans to be entered into the camp’s Business Plan Competition.  

Additional information is available online at http://sta.uwi.edu/ebc/.

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About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: www.uwi.edu 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

 

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