SIMPSON BAY–A customised back brace specifically targeting Caribbean people designed by Ameera Groeneveldt emerged the winner of the 2018 China-Caribbean and Latin America Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition held in Simpson Bay Resort on Saturday.
The competition was the culmination of the two-day Seminar on Entrepreneurship, Post-Disaster Recovery and Industrial Upgrading hosted by Promotion Association of Global Youth Innovation Leaders Community PILC, the Caribbean-China People Foundation and the Beijing International Exchange Association Sustainable Development Committee.
Fifteen young entrepreneur teams took part by submitting their ideas and projects to a judging panel. Aside from St. Maarten teams, submissions of projects by email from teams who could not attend were permitted and came from Saba, Anguilla, St. Eustatius, the Dominican Republic, Montserrat, and Anguilla. These were addressed by the judges in the morning.
Align Body Solutions Chief Executive Officer and designer Ameera Groeneveldt from St. Maarten pitched her Efit back brace design to the judges as a product to improve posture, noting that slouching is very common, particularly among Caribbean people, resulting in lower back pain. Her product is adjustable to suit the wearer, to correct and retrain posture in comfort, making the wearer in control of the product rather than the other way around.
“I believe if we have happier people with less pain we can be more productive in the workplace,” she told judges. “If we can invest in people, they are the ones rebuilding this country. What we want is mass production and St. Maarten to be a hub for these products.
“Our vision is to have the Chinese manufacturer train our people how to make these products so we can have factories to ship to other islands. What that means is job creation. Factories, not office jobs, are the way to go. The possibilities for turning out products is endless. More jobs mean less crime.”
She said part of her research included coming up with a Caribbean size chart for Caribbean body types.
Groeneveldt won the US $500 first prize. Second place ($300) went to Deniz Ozen (France) and Kevin Baly (St. Maarten) for Merchant with a Conscience in collaboration with SXM Finder. Chasen Williams (St. Maarten) won the third prize ($200) for his Caribbean Island Ferry and Cargo Service Project.
There were three Innovation Prizes. First place went to Crystal Coombs and Ahsika Boasman, from St. Maarten for their Curlyrootz T-shirt and product designs that represent each island. They came up with an original design for their products inspired by natural Caribbean roots featuring the islands made into a face.
Second place went to Leo Richardson from St. Maarten for his fish and lobster farm project and third place to Kamilah Gumbs (St. Maarten), Mesut Bayezit (Turkey) and Dincer Ocaktan (Turkey) for their project Good Point – Good for Everyone.
The judging panel included Chinese company and business owners and local judges Gregory Arrindell and Arthur Lugisse.
The competition was a small version of the competition held in China devised by PILC Executive Chairman Zhu Lei.
“This is just the start of something much bigger,” said Caribbean-China People Foundation Executive Chairman Cengiz Kucuk. “In the future there will be more networking, more organisation, more attendees to improve the competition, so it can be connected to the master competition in China held every October.
“The idea is for winners here to compete over there in China internationally. Zhu Lei and the judges will choose three from the six winners to go on an expenses-paid trip to China for the competition as long as their academic qualifications fit with the rules.
“This is supported by the China Consulate in Curaçao, because it’s all about youth and education and the future which we all share. Education is the key to the future. If we can push this event we can have so many opportunities for exchanges. It’s not all about trading and better economies. The economy will naturally rise to better levels with youth who have wisdom and education.”
The local judges overall were pleased with the presentations, some better prepared than others.
“I think the recovery theme after a disaster already establishes a platform for what innovative thinking can develop,” said Arrindell. “We cannot allow our people to be delayed in understanding the bigger picture. I always say, ‘Think global, act regional, and perform local.’ We have lacked constantly to prepare the people to understand that global opportunities exist. Local entrepreneurs can see, do and think outside the boundaries of their market.”
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/79066-ameera-groeneveldt-wins-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-competition
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