Photos: Premier Burt Meets With BEDC SSEP
On Friday, August 7th, Premier David Burt joined the participants of the BEDC Summer Student Entrepreneurship Programme at a meet and greet on the City Hall lawn.
A spokesperson said, “The meet and greet was an opportunity for the students to introduce their businesses to the community and also gain valuable experience selling and promoting their goods and services. Premier Burt met with the students on the lawn to impart words of encouragement and to inspire them to learn and succeed through enterprise.”
“It was fantastic to see such a great group of young Bermudians eager to dive into entrepreneurship. They have excellent ideas and the BEDC Summer programme that they are a part of is helping to guide them toward success. I would like to congratulate them and wish them well on their entrepreneurial journey,” said Premier Burt.
Sari Smith, one of the SSEP Students, was nervous and also excited about launching her new business Simply Natural at the Meet & Greet. She had this to say about the day, “When I first arrived, I didn’t know what to expect, but I was so excited to get out there and let people try my product. In the first 30 minutes I had sold out of all of my drinks and had people asking for more.
“Overall the experience was amazing. I came away with quite a few sales and also got a few requests from individuals interested in me sampling products at their events. Much to my surprise the time went by very fast and it was over all too soon.”
The spokesperson added, “The Summer Student Entrepreneur Programme [SSEP] is an eight-week programme designed to develop young Bermudians into the Island’s next wave of entrepreneurs. The programme, which started July 6th, allows participants ages 16-23 the opportunity to learn practical business skills such as, earning revenue, creating a business plan, conducting SWOT analysis, and much more.
“The ten participants this year include:
- Sabriuna Wilkinson, Nurture Laiche a company specializing in lactation snacks for mothers;
- Kion Knights, Yard Barbers, a landscaping company;
- Zaire Lodge, BOGA Gaming Tournament, an online gaming tournament;
- Daijah Stowe, DS Photography, a graphic design, photography and marketing business;
- Jasmeen Codrington-Edmead, Mood, offering teens and young adults original clothing designs;
- Kaliyah Whitehurst, Jordan’s Kloset, an online thrifting store;
- Mya Furbert-Jacobs, MFJ Cosmetics & Designs, offering lashes as well as natural lipgloss and skin care;
- Sari Smith, Simply Natural, a natural beverage and snack business using Monkfruit as a natural sweetener;
- Siraj Grant, Cupping Therapy Bermuda, a cupping therapy business;
- Skye Kermode, Sky Art, offering healing through orgonite, crystals, wire work and multimedia paintings.
“The meet and greet was a great experience for the students. Premier Burt took time to speak with each student individually, giving them advice and patronizing their businesses,” said Deshun Simmons, Programme Coordinator.
“This opportunity allowed the students to gain valuable experience talking about and promoting their businesses in a public setting. Whilst Covid-19 has changed the landscape of how students might sell their products, we’ve been able to get them on online with the help of local Virtual Market, Amazuda.”
“Amazuda [amazuda.bm] is a site where you can browse and purchase goods and services. The SSEP participants have created online stores within Amazuda and all of their goods and services can be purchased via this online platform throughout the Summer.
“For more information on the Summer Student Entrepreneurship Programme and the 2020 Participants, please visit www.bedc.bm, contact info@bedc.bm or call 292-5570.”
