Six entrants are moving onto the next round of the Scotiabank Vision Achiever Programme LivePitch 2017 competition,in collaboration with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), to promote entrepreneurship locally.
In a joint statement, Scotiabank and GCCI explained that each entrant was required to submit a 60-second video pitch for a new business or expansion of an existing business.
These video presentations were posted to Scotiabank Guyana Facebook page for public voting.

“The three videos with the most likes were automatic finalists while the judges were tasked with identifying two wildcard picks, not necessarily based on number of votes. Since there were six entries into the competition, it was decided to send all to the final rounds to compete for the $500,000.00 top prize and $250,000.00 runner up prize,” GCCI explained.
The six finalists are Guyana Premier, Koko, TREE by New Generation Great Minds (NGGM), CWYN’s Domain, Shermol Cleaning Services and Freedom2Love Agency. The six finalists will commence training with ActionCoach to help them through the next two rounds of the competition.
In an interview with Guyana Chronicle, NGGM Team Member Hilary Benjamin-Byer said the competition provides the requisite training, finance and exposure that startups in Guyana need.

“The team thought that the competition created the perfect opportunity for us to get two things: finance and training. Finance to get the minimum resources to achieve your objective and training, in the sense of creating a strategic approach and sustainable plan,” Benjamin-Byer explained.
In the NGGM’s LivePitch, it was explained that the ‘Tropical Rainforest Entrepreneurial Ecosystem (TREE)’ will provide a platform that promotes entrepreneurship, collaboration and adds value to all the persons on the platform by providing global opportunities for them.
“I believe this will be the game changer for Guyana as a country, as we call ourselves NGGM, we are surely a new generation of great minds and we are creating the environment necessary to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in Guyana,” Benjamin-Byer posited.

Meanwhile, Molly Jeffers, who is the face of Shermol Cleaning Services, said she opted to be a part of the competition to capitalise on the training opportunities it provides.
“I entered the competition because I need to know more about accounting and ActionCoach will provide me with that training,” she posited.
Six years into existence, Shermol Cleaners Service offers a broad range of cleaning services that are tailored to meet the needs of its customers. These services include carpet cleaning, office cleaning, complete floor care, window cleaning and property maintenance, among other services.

The next round of the competition requires the finalists to use Scotiabank’s free online Plan Writer tool to prepare a business plan. They will then be required to present their plan on national television for final judging.
The winner and runner up will be announced on September 18, 2017 and will respectively receive a $500,000 and $250,000 start up business account at the Bank.
The Scotiabank Vision Achiever Programme LivePitch competition is one of the bank’s initiatives to celebrate Small Business Week which will run from September 18-22 this year. Among the judges are Lance Hinds, CEO of Brainstreet Group; Dr. Rosh Khan,CEO of

SocialRank Media; Gillian Griffith, Officer in Charge, Small Business Bureau, and Brian Hackett, Scotiabank Branch Manager.
The Scotiabank Vision Achiever Programme LivePitch Competition was first launched in September 2015. The previous winners are Wafugee Inc in 2015 and Privileged Clothing in 2016.