Former ambassador making dreams come true for SMEs
Makeda Antoine-Cambridge, chief executive officer of Genesis International Ltd.
As a child, Makeda Antoine-Cambridge saw first-hand the power of entrepreneurship.
“I was heavily influenced by my own upbringing, my parents were entrepreneurs, slash hustlers, they did what they needed to do,” Antoine-Cambridge told the Business Guardian.
“My father had a painting business, my mother sold food and helped with domestic chores for other people but it took care of the family. It paid our bills, we had a house, there was no mortgage, my father had a car, I mean there was poverty prior to me but I saw that you can work for yourself and take care of your families,” she said.
Antoine-Cambridge is now trying to empower others. And so she founded Genesis International Ltd (GIL).
She is GIL’s chief executive officer.
“We focus on promoting technology-driven entrepreneurship and I think that is our unique identity and competitive advantage,” Antoine-Cambridge said.
Antoine-Cambridge argued this is necessary because she believes micro, small and medium enterprises are the drivers of the economy.
“MSMEs make up 95 per cent of the world businesses, even in T&T, and they can contribute as much as 60 per cent of jobs internationally. One small business can provide as many as ten jobs,” she said.
These companies were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic with the World Bank projecting that at least 50 per cent of small businesses will fail this year.
And so to ensure their “survivability” Antoine-Cambridge said SMEs need to capitalise on the “digital economy.”
T&T has been failing in this regard, she said.
“During COVID I felt that T&T was not online,” she said.
Antoine-Cambridge has lived in the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, and Jamaica and several organisations in those countries which she patronised reached out to her online during the pandemic.
In T&T, only one organisation reached out to her, she said.
“During that season I was home I probably got an email from only Caribbean Airlines and normally that is an indication of how many organisations were online,” she said.
Antoine-Cambridge recently launched GIL’s Small Business Transformation Programme saying she is “very optimistic” about the opportunities provided by the digital transformation for small economies like T&T and small businesses.
She believes her global outlook has fuelled this optimism.
Antoine-Cambridge was Permanent Representative and Ambassador of T&T to the United Nations (Geneva), Austria and Italy from December 2017 to February 2020.
She also has a background in information, communications technology and diplomacy including senior positions in Jamaica (Digicel Group) and United Arab of Emirates (Infobip) where she managed Caribbean and African territories.
“So that was my driver to take my skills and help small businesses and I personally have a strong desire to help women and we need to use technology to leapfrog our development in a developing world because we are not just focusing on T&T,” she said.
“According to UNCTAD data, the digital economy is expected to be worth US$23 trillion by 2025, with a return on Investment valued 6.7 times higher than other sectors. Recent data from Statista shows that the Caribbean Business 2 Consumer (B2C) e-commerce market is valued at US$5 billion, growing at approximately 25 per cent annually, which means more and more people are conducting business using digital methods.”
Businesses need to understand the global outlook.
“We want people to come on board and understand if you’re selling in the mall or you’re selling in a little office the market is now online. You are not where the market is that means your revenue is going to be cut, your customers are going to go and they are going to gravitate to where people are now and if you are not there you will be left behind,” she said.
“The internet is the great equaliser you really have no excuses now,” Antoine-Cambridge said.
“If you are selling peppers, you are selling amchar you can put a photo online, you can start to market that and you will get new clients,” she said.
Creativity has not been a problem for Trinbagonians, Antoine-Cambridge insisted.
The difficulty has been from transforming these ideas into a workable plan, she said.
“Concretising a dream into a plan, unless you have a date and you have broken it down into steps that are actionable for you, you have a dream. We help you turn that dream into a plan and if you didn’t have the skillset we guide you,” she said.
“We are very creative as a people but we sometimes start hot and sweaty then the dream dies and we give it up,” Antoine-Cambridge said.
To ensure the growth of a business, Antoine-Cambridge said you have to invest time in it.
“Like a new child or anything you think is important you have to spend some time to build it you have to get the research, do the work, you have to make the time,” she said.
GIL is offering business coaching services, business accelerator programs, business bootcamps, free community business clinics and webinars.
GIL will work closely with stakeholders to launch specially designed Business Accelerator Programs for entrepreneurs. It will also offer business coaching services that promote technology-driven entrepreneurship and inclusion into the digital economy for small businesses to ensure their survival, adaptability, and sustainable growth.
“We focus on business transformation with the aim of enhancing the customer’s experience and the company’s bottom-line,” she said.
In a few week’s, GIL will also be launching its Boot Camps.
GIL’s Boot Camps are intense one-day sessions that enable individuals to be exposed to technology-driven entrepreneurial skills that best position them for success.
It also allows an opportunity to network, participate in breakout sessions and learn from other entrepreneurs.
The webinars hosted by GIL include digital transformation, social media management, financial management, building a brand, business planning, setting up a company, youth and entrepreneurship, funding for SMEs.
“I was heavily influenced by my own upbringing, my parents were entrepreneurs, slash hustlers, they did what they needed to do,” Antoine-Cambridge told the Business Guardian.
“My father had a painting business, my mother sold food and helped with domestic chores for other people but it took care of the family. It paid our bills, we had a house, there was no mortgage, my father had a car, I mean there was poverty prior to me but I saw that you can work for yourself and take care of your families,” she said.
Antoine-Cambridge is now trying to empower others. And so she founded Genesis International Ltd (GIL).
She is GIL’s chief executive officer.
“We focus on promoting technology-driven entrepreneurship and I think that is our unique identity and competitive advantage,” Antoine-Cambridge said.
Antoine-Cambridge argued this is necessary because she believes micro, small and medium enterprises are the drivers of the economy.
“MSMEs make up 95 per cent of the world businesses, even in T&T, and they can contribute as much as 60 per cent of jobs internationally. One small business can provide as many as ten jobs,” she said.
These companies were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic with the World Bank projecting that at least 50 per cent of small businesses will fail this year.
And so to ensure their “survivability” Antoine-Cambridge said SMEs need to capitalise on the “digital economy.”
T&T has been failing in this regard, she said.
“During COVID I felt that T&T was not online,” she said.
Antoine-Cambridge has lived in the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, and Jamaica and several organisations in those countries which she patronised reached out to her online during the pandemic.
In T&T, only one organisation reached out to her, she said.
“During that season I was home I probably got an email from only Caribbean Airlines and normally that is an indication of how many organisations were online,” she said.
Antoine-Cambridge recently launched GIL’s Small Business Transformation Programme saying she is “very optimistic” about the opportunities provided by the digital transformation for small economies like T&T and small businesses.
She believes her global outlook has fuelled this optimism.
Antoine-Cambridge was Permanent Representative and Ambassador of T&T to the United Nations (Geneva), Austria and Italy from December 2017 to February 2020.
She also has a background in information, communications technology and diplomacy including senior positions in Jamaica (Digicel Group) and United Arab of Emirates (Infobip) where she managed Caribbean and African territories.
“So that was my driver to take my skills and help small businesses and I personally have a strong desire to help women and we need to use technology to leapfrog our development in a developing world because we are not just focusing on T&T,” she said.
“According to UNCTAD data, the digital economy is expected to be worth US$23 trillion by 2025, with a return on Investment valued 6.7 times higher than other sectors. Recent data from Statista shows that the Caribbean Business 2 Consumer (B2C) e-commerce market is valued at US$5 billion, growing at approximately 25 per cent annually, which means more and more people are conducting business using digital methods.”
Businesses need to understand the global outlook.
“We want people to come on board and understand if you’re selling in the mall or you’re selling in a little office the market is now online. You are not where the market is that means your revenue is going to be cut, your customers are going to go and they are going to gravitate to where people are now and if you are not there you will be left behind,” she said.
“The internet is the great equaliser you really have no excuses now,” Antoine-Cambridge said.
“If you are selling peppers, you are selling amchar you can put a photo online, you can start to market that and you will get new clients,” she said.
Creativity has not been a problem for Trinbagonians, Antoine-Cambridge insisted.
The difficulty has been from transforming these ideas into a workable plan, she said.
“Concretising a dream into a plan, unless you have a date and you have broken it down into steps that are actionable for you, you have a dream. We help you turn that dream into a plan and if you didn’t have the skillset we guide you,” she said.
“We are very creative as a people but we sometimes start hot and sweaty then the dream dies and we give it up,” Antoine-Cambridge said.
To ensure the growth of a business, Antoine-Cambridge said you have to invest time in it.
“Like a new child or anything you think is important you have to spend some time to build it you have to get the research, do the work, you have to make the time,” she said.
GIL is offering business coaching services, business accelerator programs, business bootcamps, free community business clinics and webinars.
GIL will work closely with stakeholders to launch specially designed Business Accelerator Programs for entrepreneurs. It will also offer business coaching services that promote technology-driven entrepreneurship and inclusion into the digital economy for small businesses to ensure their survival, adaptability, and sustainable growth.
“We focus on business transformation with the aim of enhancing the customer’s experience and the company’s bottom-line,” she said.
In a few week’s, GIL will also be launching its Boot Camps.
GIL’s Boot Camps are intense one-day sessions that enable individuals to be exposed to technology-driven entrepreneurial skills that best position them for success.
It also allows an opportunity to network, participate in breakout sessions and learn from other entrepreneurs.
The webinars hosted by GIL include digital transformation, social media management, financial management, building a brand, business planning, setting up a company, youth and entrepreneurship, funding for SMEs.