Business Hatchery

Your Contact

Denise Ferguson

Executive Manager – Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation

Business Hatchery

Contact Me

18682990209 / 2990210

businesshatchery@cariri.com

Business Hatchery

Our Vision is to be Trinidad and Tobago’s premier platform for business start-ups, in building a community of entrepreneurs who go on to discover and innovate sustainable solutions that improve lives, connect people and stimulate change.

Mission
We are dedicated to creating a platform that enables all entrepreneurs to innovate and do their best work. We know that every business, even in the same industry, is different. Our commitment to building better businesses will challenge and engage entrepreneurial mindsets, and set start-ups on a path to transformation. We create value for entrepreneurs through collaborative interventions tailored to meet the specific and evolving challenges facing start-ups.

Signature Business Hatchery Programme


Launched in July 2014, CARIRI’s Business Hatchery continues to transform start-ups through its signature Business Hatchery Programme. We work with early stage entrepreneurs and small businesses, in helping them do amazing things over a three month duration, from validating their business, to proving marketability and refining their business model. Each year we support a select group of approximately 50 entrepreneurs who are solving problems through traditional and non-traditional products, services and technology solutions.

Business Hatchery

Our Vision is to be Trinidad and Tobago’s premier platform for business start-ups, in building a community of entrepreneurs who go on to discover and innovate sustainable solutions that improve lives, connect people and stimulate change.

Mission
We are dedicated to creating a platform that enables all entrepreneurs to innovate and do their best work. We know that every business, even in the same industry, is different. Our commitment to building better businesses will challenge and engage entrepreneurial mindsets, and set start-ups on a path to transformation. We create value for entrepreneurs through collaborative interventions tailored to meet the specific and evolving challenges facing start-ups.

Signature Business Hatchery Programme

Launched in July 2014, CARIRI’s Business Hatchery continues to transform start-ups through its signature Business Hatchery Programme. We work with early stage entrepreneurs and small businesses, in helping them do amazing things over a three month duration, from validating their business, to proving marketability and refining their business model. Each year we support a select group of approximately 50 entrepreneurs who are solving problems through traditional and non-traditional products, services and technology solutions.

Your Contact

Denise Ferguson

Executive manager – Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation

Business Hatchery

Contact Me

Telephone 2990209 / 2990210

Email: businessincubator@cariri.com

Testimonials

A snapshot of testimonials from entrepreneurs who successfully completed the Business Hatchery programme in 2015 to 2017:

Selection Criteria

We thank all our applicants for taking the time to submit a completed Expression of Interest Form. We receive many stellar applications and are excited by our entrepreneurs’ journeys. However, we select applicants who are shortlisted following panel interviews based on the following:

Our Ideal Candidate

Whilst we value experience and your analytical capabilities, what we are mainly looking for in each candidate is an entrepreneurial drive and mindset. You should be passionate about your business concept, resilient in the face of setbacks and committed in both time and energy to attend workshops and coaching sessions, for the duration of the Business Hatchery’s three month Programme.

If you can balance collaboration with independent thought, take risks and be self-motivated, then we invite you to apply online to our Business Hatchery Programme.

Web Solutions

Are you in need of a straightforward website? Look no further! Whether you have your content prepared or not, our skilled professionals can swiftly establish a web presence for your business in just one efficient sprint. However, if your requirements lean towards something more sophisticated, we’ve got you covered as well.

Our dedicated team is adept at harnessing the full potential of e-commerce web development to provide a robust e-commerce solution tailored to your business needs. Web applications can serve diverse purposes – whether it’s a front-end application for data collection or a promotional app aimed at engaging your online audience, we have the expertise to deliver the right solution for your specific requirements.

Software Testing

Testing is an integral part of our process, deeply ingrained in every aspect of our work. Our team of skilled test and quality engineers seamlessly integrate smart software testing throughout the entire development cycle.

To ensure comprehensive coverage, we employ collaborative mind-maps that assist our team in executing test cases right from the development phase. This proactive approach allows us to identify and rectify any potential gaps before the completion of a development sprint.

Furthermore, we prioritize usability and functionality testing, involving both your stakeholders and ours. These tests are conducted rigorously before any of our solutions are deployed, ensuring that the end product meets the highest standards and aligns perfectly with your requirements.

How to Apply to the Business Hatchery Programme

Entrance into the programme is competitive and contingent upon successfully fulfilling the requirements of an application process:

What are we looking for
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Frequently Asked Questions - Business Hatchery

No. Based on a competitive application process, entrance into the Business Hatchery Programme occurs at set periods. The inaugural Business Hatchery cycle was launched in July 2014. The next cycle is tentatively scheduled to begin January 2019.

Entrepreneurs go on to launch their own business and either pivot their original business direction (pre-Business Hatchery Programme), or advance to the next phase of CARIRI’s Business Incubator, designed to assist incubatees in commercializing their venture.

Entrepreneurs/Founders of existing start-ups in operation for a period of 6 months to 3 years. It doesn’t matter if you only have one customer or ten customers. Irrespective of the business enterprise, if you can commit 3 months of your time and energy to conduct market research, test your business model, improve your pitch techniques and develop your value proposition and financial projections, we want to hear from you. Commit to growing your start-up and the Business Hatchery Programme is an easy decision.

Businesses in diverse industries and sectors are accepted. In the past, we have accepted businesses in the following spheres: fashion, beauty, entertainment, education, retail, animation, environment, digital applications, accounting, child care services, ICT, manufacturing and food and beverage.

Submit an Expression of Interest form (online) and our team will contact you if you are shortlisted to attend a brief pitch panel discussion, at our Centre for Enterprise Development in Freeport. Following the pitch panel discussion, selected candidates can expect to sign a Business Hatchery contractual agreement and commence the Business Hatchery Programme within 2-3 weeks.

A generous time and energy commitment is critical to completing the programme and benefitting from the process of validating your business idea, learning business fundamentals, honing your pitch technique, developing market surveys, testing marketability and designing your business model. The value of the programme’s offering, peer support and mentorship networks also necessitates a fee priced at a reasonable market cost.

The entrepreneur is in the driving seat. The Business Hatchery does not own participants’ businesses or request equity swaps.

All businesses have a risk of failure. It is however much better to fail quickly and chart a different footprint, sooner rather than later. Our objective is to equip entrepreneurs with the tools to understand what works, what does not and what may need improvement. We want all our entrepreneurs to complete the programme and launch their own business or join the Business Incubator.

The programme is segmented into individual components with 5 deliverables: Base Case Analysis, Market Research, Financial projections, Business Model Development and Business Pitch.

The Business Hatchery programme delivers customized support to entrepreneurs and empowers them to determine proof of marketability for their business ideas. Our programme is rigorous, engaging and collaborative with experiential learning, practical workshops and functional knowledge networks. Our team of consultants and staff provide key insight and the necessary tools for the testing of business ideas. However, we encourage entrepreneurs “to get out of the room,” think independently and start learning by doing, by embedding group facilitation and one-on-one coaching sessions throughout the process.

If you only have an idea, you should apply to CARIRI’s Idea Advisory Service. This service is offered at no cost, and can be accessed via: Idea Advisory Service (IAS)