Port of Spain, Trinidad, November 6, 2024: On October 30, fifty-four (54) women entrepreneurs from across the Caribbean successfully graduated from the third cohort of the Republic Bank Entrepreneurs Business Builder (EBB) programme. A collaboration under the Bank’s Power to Make A Difference corporate social responsibility programme with Business & People Development (BPD) Associates, the EBB was tailored specifically for women entrepreneurs with a minimum of two years’ entrepreneurial experience, providing them with the skills, mentorship and resources to take their business ventures to the next level.

Participants of this third cohort, hailed from Anguilla, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Sint Maarten, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago. These 54 new EBB alumni members are now equipped with practical and strategic insights to foster lasting business growth following their learnings from the self-paced, online programme. They are also now included among the one hundred and sixty-five women entrepreneurs who have graduated from the EBB since it was first launched in 2022.

“We’re no longer just getting a “seat at the table”; we’re designing the table, building it, and transforming the very way business is done” remarked Karen Yip Chuck, Republic Bank’s Group Vice President in her feature address at the virtual graduation ceremony.

While fifty-three of the participants were awarded a scholarship valued at 80% of the cost of the programme, one participant who was significantly impacted by Hurricane Beryl received a 100% scholarship. To ensure their future success after graduation, the Bank will provide eligible participants with the opportunity to avail of pre-approved and unsecured Business Credit Cards and Overdraft Facilities.

The EBB is reflective the Bank’s wider commitment as a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking to foster sustainable growth, particularly for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This initiative aims to empower women to build resilient and successful businesses, and supports the achievement of SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure respectively.