The chairman of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation, Winston Rolle, has said that The Bahamas needs to encourage entrepreneurs and equip them with better skills.

The chairman of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC), Winston Rolle, has spoken out about the need to promote entrepreneurship in the educational system.

“Education on entrepreneurship comes from the school level,” he said. “Life long learning is something we need to instill in people. They need to know how to develop a business plan, understand the market, deal with customers and employees. All these things have to be focused on when we talk about education.”

Rolle made the remarks at a recent seminar hosted by the Bahamas Institute of Financial Services (BIFS) at the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau.

The chairman told attendees that the country has relied on the two pillars of its economy–tourism and financial services–to the detriment of entrepreneurs, and this has hindered growth and innovation.

“Financial services and tourism have been a blessing to The Bahamas, but they have also been a curse. We pushed people into those industries. We are not training our kids in schools with the mindset of ‘I am going to go create jobs,'” he said.

“That is a very significant cultural shift we have to go through in this country.”

Rolle said that the most important trends affecting entrepreneurship in recent times included globalization, privatization and lack of support, noting that support meant more than just funding.

“Money without technical support is a gift. Money does not solve a problem. It is part of the solution, but you need to understand how to spend it,” he explained. “Government has to create an environment where persons of an entrepreneurial spirit can get the kind of support they need.”

cmorris@dupuch.com