The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Andros Chamber of Commerce has pushed back its economic and investment conclave, which is designed to connect entrepreneurs with investors, from late January to mid-March 2024.

Darrin Bethel, its president, said the event will allow entrepreneurs to "tailor" their investment plans to take advantage of emerging industries on Andros and expand existing trades.

He said: “We decided to put together a conclave outlining future potential investments in Andros, and the economic impact from those investments, so that entrepreneurs and investors can position themselves for the future.

“We’ve seen a lot of young entrepreneurs investing in areas that are not suitable or conducive to the economy and the direction of the economy. So we decided to help them out with their ideas so that they can tailor them in alignment with what may be coming for Andros in the near future, and so that they can invest areas that can be profitable and beneficial to them in the long run.”

Mr Bethel explained that many entrepreneurs encounter difficulties when seeking financing, so banks and lending institutions will be attending the event to provide guidance to them.

He said: “We also want to consider the financial aspect for people who don't have the funding, and so we are inviting a group of banking and lending institutions to come in there to give people an idea how to position themselves to obtain lending.

“A lot of entrepreneurs have been seeking lending and have had difficulties with that process, so we hope that having a group of lenders at the conclave can give entrepreneurs a better idea of what they need to do to position themselves to obtain lending.”

Mr Bethel said the event, slated for March 13, will cover several industries including fly fishing, agriculture, renewable energy, aviation and freight forwarding.

He added that it will also serve as a membership drive for the Chamber of Commerce, and permit local business owners to discuss the range of goods and services needed to support projects targeted at Andros.

He said: “The fly fishing industry has been a staple industry for the Andros community, but there are areas that they are looking to expand. We are going to have someone present on that, and explain to locals what kind of investments they can get into to support the expansion of industry.

“The Government is looking into now putting together a renewable energy plan and putting a hybrid power plant in Andros. We want to know if there's any economic impact from that and what would that mean for us as a community.

"See what areas there are for business investments and if there's anything that locals can do to position themselves to support such entities here on Andros. The same goes for aggregate minin; we want to know what type of spin-off businesses we can expect," Mr Bethel added.

“Freight forwarding is also a business that has been picking up, so we want to have people present and obtain support for their ideas so that they can be more successful. We have a lot of events scheduled for the upcoming year. We're trying to reignite the Chamber and make it a more focal entity in our community.”