Guardian ( Trinidad and Tobago )
11 July 2023 ( Page 22 )
Cocoa entrepreneurs taste sweet success
Budding entrepreneurs celebrated sweet success having graduated from a
Cocoa Enterprise Development Certificate Programme with a ceremony
hosted at the bpTT Hospitality Suite, in the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-ofSpain, last Thursday.
The training initiative was facilitated by the Maurice Academy of Design
and Craft (MADC) and sponsored by bpTT, with support from The
University of the West Indies—Open Campus (UWI-OC).
Sharing words of encouragement in delivering the feature address was
Earland Kent, deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Sport and
Community Development.
He said,“This programme demonstrates the immense potential within the
cocoa industry, and I congratulate MADC and the graduates of this
initiative for their foresight. We have a rich history in cocoa production
and this initiative seeks to catalyse further growth and innovation in the
sector.”
Earland Kent, deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Sport and
Community Development, presents a mentorship grant to cocoa
enterprise graduate, Katherine Lewis.
Cocoa enterprise grant recipients show off their certificates with Ryan
Chaitram, communications and external affairs manager, bpTT and
MADC’s managing director, Merle Grell-Lawrence.
“I want to congratulate this first cohort of graduates and your passion,
dedication and newly acquired skills are the building blocks of a brighter
future, not only for yourselves but also for Trinidad and Tobago,” Kent
added.
This project is a continuation of the collaboration that started with the
“bean-to-bar” workshop in May 2019, and which was followed by an
intensive training exercise. The next phase of the project will encompass a
mentorship exercise focused on one-on-one enterprise development
towards developing value-added services and products from the cocoa
industry.
Through expert and industry-relevant lecturers, participants were
exposed to a wide scope, including cocoa agronomy, estate development
and operations, bean-to-bar production management, enterprise
training, product marketing and export strategies.
However, the cocoa-based enterprise training was not limited to chocolate
but extended to encompass cocoa-based spa products, handicrafts,
beverages and cuisine.
Photo: Ryan Chaitram, centre, communications and external affairs manager, bpTT, chats with grant recipients from the Cocoa Enterprise Development Certificate Programme.
Photo: Earland Kent, deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Sport and
Community Development, presents a mentorship grant to cocoa enterprise graduate, Katherine Lewis.
Photo: Cocoa enterprise grant recipients show off their certificates with Ryan
Chaitram, communications and external affairs manager, bpTT and
MADC’s managing director, Merle Grell-Lawrence.