TT needs more entrepreneurs

MINISTER in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis Wednesday told more than 500 students there is a great need for young entrepreneurs in TT.

Speaking at the launch of the second national secondary school entrepreneurship competition (NSSEC) at the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain, Francis urged students not to give up when they are faced with challenges. “If TT has to get to a point where we have a diversified economy, where we have an economy that is not just responsive to world trends, where we are in charge of our economic future, we need entrepreneurs.

“We need young people with ideas, who are creative, who can create businesses that are sustainable, that would last and that produce something that has value locally, regionally and internationally.

“If we do that and we have enough of that, then we can get past any kind of recession that we are suffering from now.”

Francis urged students to have an open mind and work together to solve problems, and also not to be discouraged by something which appears to be difficult.

“Hard work pays off. Don’t just go through the motions. Try to get the best experience you can get from the programme. Ensure that you learn from the programme that you can take forward in your life. This is part of the reason the ministry finds itself aligned with the NSSEC. We need a solution, and, interestingly, we need a solution from you.”

David Stone, co-founder of 3Stone, said the competition is an inter-school one based online. It is the first of its kind in the Caribbean, he said, and uses a simulation game from the US to empower students in making strategic business decisions.

“Their decision and outcomes of their decisions are challenged by real-world business factors and competitors’ (other students’) decisions. Students will gain practical skills in starting their own business and will be empowered through the competitive experience of thinking about how their decisions in business have consequences both immediately and down the line.” Stone said last year’s competition was a great success and revealed TT’s capacity to excel in entrepreneurship. “Thirteen per cent of students who took part managed to outperform 95 per cent of people who have ever played the game internationally. “Considering that this simulation is used in many university classes, in big businesses and amongst PhDs and graduate students, this is an impressive feat.”

Students will compete for six weeks against each other. The top prize includes five full scholarships to the undergraduate programme at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business and other, partial scholarships.