Vincent Hosang, chief executive officer/president of Royal Caribbean Bakery and Caribbean Food Delights Inc. New York, displays the plaque he received from the University of the West Indies for his generosity in funding the Hosang Entrepreneurship Programme. Looking on are (from left) Professor Errol Morrison, dean of Graduate Studies and Research; Vice Chancellor of the UWI, Professor Rex Nettleford; principal of the Mona Campus, Professor Kenneth Hall and executive director of the Mona School of Business, Professor Gordon Shirley.
THE VINCENT HOSANG Entrepreneurship Programme was recently launched on the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus.
The programme is an initiative sponsored by a very successful Jamaican entrepreneur, Vincent Hosang, chief executive officer and president of Royal Caribbean Bakery and Caribbean Food Delights Inc., of New York.
It is designed to encourage students and researchers in the UWI community to act on their energies, ideas and talents to produce innovative companies of tomorrow.
The programme will match entrants with successful business people who share a common interest and have the skills, contacts or insight to help them with their business plans. The goal is to provide a unique learning experience for the participants who will have the opportunity to launch their own companies while participating in the exercise.
The programme begins with the Vincent Hosang Entrepreneurship Competition which will be staged in two phases and is open to final year undergraduate students, graduate students and researchers of the UWI Mona campus. In the first phase, students and researchers interested in competing will be invited to submit an executive summary of their business ideas in 3,000 words or less, including brief biographical sketches.
The top entrants from the preliminary round will be identified and given six weeks to submit complete business plans. During this period, each of the top entrants will be matched with at least one business person who will serve as an advisor and a mentor providing guidance on the business plan. Each entrant will be invited to present his/her plan to a panel of independent judges with the aim of convincing them that they can be most successful in achieving the business goals that have been outlined.
The top six entrants will receive a prize of $100,000 (to be used in incorporating their companies and to provide seed funds during start-up) a scholarship inclusive of tuition costs, a computer and housing for the duration of the programme. During the programme, students will be provided with the education, tools, feedback and contact which they will need to launch their companies to be successful in the early stages of its growth.
From the launch through to the final competition, the programme will sponsor workshops to help students learn the skills needed to start a company. These workshops will include sessions on marketing, funding, preparing business plans and intellectual property protection. The successful students will also benefit from classes at the Mona School of Business and from other faculties in areas relevant to the start-up of their businesses. At the end of the programme, students will be evaluated and certified by faculty of the Mona School of Business.
Speaking at the launch, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Professor Rex Nettleford said that the UWI is sincerely thankful to Vincent Hosang for his generosity in offering to fund this programme. The university, Professor Nettleford said, has for some time been aware of the need for a programme that facilitates opportunities for practical experience to those students who are on the Mona campus. He said that this programme will therefore be of tremendous benefit to Mona graduates.
In expressing appreciation to Mr. Hosang, the Mona campus' Principal Professor Kenneth Hall said that "it has been recognised that a culture of entrepreneurship contributes significantly to development and that experience-based learning is an important aspect in fostering such a culture at the national and regional levels. He said that the Mona School of Business has developed the executive-in-residence programme as one mechanism through which UWI students are brought into contact with leaders in business who can give them direct exposure to the nature of their operating environment. Professor Hall said that the Hosang Entrepreneurship Programme will be an excellent complement to this strategy as it will facilitate students' translation of business concepts into viable businesses and in so doing, provide the experience and training that is necessary for inculcating an entrepreneurial spirit.
MENTORSHIP
Executive Director of the Mona School of Business, Professor Gordon Shirley, outlined the structure of the programme saying that it was designed to provide participants with access to the resources, which are crucial to successful entrepreneurship. These, he said, included access to networks of world class entrepreneurs, investors and potential partners, mentorship by successful and seasoned professionals, education in specific business planning skills and entrepreneurial insight.
In addition, participants will be able to develop team-building skills to create a winning team of founders, access to private equity community in the island and broad public relations exposure.
