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GB Minister Spoke on Small Business Development at OAS Gathering in Washington D.C.

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Bahamas, July 24, 2017 – Nassau – Minister of State for Grand Bahama in the Office of the Prime Minister, the Hon. Kwasi Thompson visited Washington D.C. this past Friday where he addressed participants in a Small Business Development Center Study Tour, sponsored by The Organization of American States.

Addressing participants from throughout the Caribbean, OAS officials and others, the Minister said he was pleased to represent The Bahamas at the event and that it was particularly important for him to see the implementation of the program in The Bahamas and especially on the island of Grand Bahama.

He told the assembly that the current administration is focused on small business assistance and that development of the program will help to fulfill that commitment.

Minister Thompson also recalled that it was only a few short months ago that The Bahamas signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the OAS to become part of the cooperation programme being offered through the United States Permanent Mission to the OAS in conjunction with the University of Texas in San Antonio.

“The Bahamas is an active member of the OAS in all areas and particularly in the affairs of the Secretariat for Integral Development,” he told the gathering.

Further, he informed that The Bahamas has a small and open economy, primarily driven by two sectors, tourism and financial services, with tourism being the dominant sector contributing better than 45% of the country’s gross domestic product.

The Grand Bahama Minister advised that while most economic activities are concentrated on the country’s most populated island, New Providence, that Grand Bahama, the second most populated island hosts one of the first free ports in the world, a special economic zone.

He also stressed that the island is home to one of the largest container shipping facilities on the eastern seaboard with the capacity to service approximately 1.5 million twenty-foot container units a year including the capacity to service 750 refrigerated units.

Also, that the island is home of the Grand Bahama Shipyard, one of the largest centers for dry-docking and afloat services for repairs, refit, refurbishment and revitalization.

The Minister also advised that our government recognizes that in order to accelerate the country’s economic growth, steps need to be taken to further develop an environment which focuses on competitiveness, ease of doing business and macroeconomic stability.

“My Government also recognizes that the growth and expansion of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises or MSMEs is key to the country’s growth success and we are creating an environment which encourages innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit of the people.

“To be successful, this will take a coordinated approach targeted at addressing the needs of the MSME sector of the economy,” he said.

Continuing, he informed that to stimulate the growth of MSMEs, previous governments had established agencies targeted at supporting the development of those enterprises.

Some of the key agencies according to Mr. Thompson included the Bahamas Agricultural & Industrial Corporation, the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Capital Fund and the Bahamas Development Bank.

He also informed that representatives from those agencies had traveled to Washington for the event also.

“The aim of these agencies is to encourage the creation, expansion and promotion of SMEs through the provision of business incubation support services, resources such as industrial land at concessionary rates, access to development funding, access to buyers’ market and the provision of monitoring and evaluation services for small businesses,” he said.

Mr. Thompson was also keen on pointing out that “although our Government has only been in office for approximate two months, I am pleased that our Government has agreed to continue the important process of establishing two Small Business Development Centers with support of the US Permanent Mission to the OAS, to better coordinate the efforts of existing agencies which support SME development.

“The creation of such centers was a key recommendation of the country’s National Development Plan. The Centers will also develop a framework that will help to increase collaboration and networking between SMEs.

“Our plan calls for the Small Business Development Centers to be based at two campuses of the University of The Bahamas in New Providence and Grand Bahama and comprised of a team of professionals from a variety of sectors namely, the public sector, academia, agencies responsible for small business development and the Chamber of Commerce,” he stated.

According to the Minister the Center will have the advantage of accessing a cadre of qualified faculty and global network of resources aimed at small business growth.

He said that members of the team have in the past several months been engaged in active dialogue and training with personnel from the Small Business Development Center of the University of Texas.

“We are pleased that the team has already developed a Strategic and Operational Plan which will be implemented in both Grand Bahama and New Providence before the end of 2017 and will be subsequently launched in our Family Islands in the near future.

“The plan includes the organizational structure of the Center and the roles and responsibilities of key personnel. Once fully implemented it is our vision that the Center will be the leading driver of economic growth for small businesses by empowering entrepreneurial development throughout The Bahamas.

“We anticipate that the Small Business Development Centre Model that The Bahamas will be implementing over the next few months will not only grow and expand SMEs, but will also create further opportunities for partnerships between domestic and international businesses, attracting more investment into the country,” he said.

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Twist To Win Ends in a Grand Style with Four $5,000 Mall at Marathon Shopping Sprees  

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Twist To Win grand finale winners (l-r) Brian Bethel, Taraceta Neely, Ashia Demeritte and Merlin Adams posing along with their winnings from the shopping spree.

NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products concluded their 10 weeklong Twist To Win campaign with four $5,000 Mall at Marathon shopping sprees.

The campaign which was available throughout the entire Bahamas allowed consumers to enter by purchasing a 20oz bottle with a yellow cap from the following brands: Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite, Fanta Orange, or Fanta Grape. Each yellow-cap had a unique alpha numeric code underneath which they submitted to the Twist To Win WhatsApp number.

With each qualifying purchase, participants residing in The Bahamas were entered to win instant prizes and into a grand prize draw to win one of four $5,000 shopping sprees at the Mall at Marathon.

Participants also enjoyed exciting instant prizes such as: Airpods, JBL Speakers, premium Coca-Cola merchandise, $500 Visa gift cards and Amazon, Spotify and Apple Music digital gift cards.

Out of 76,000 plus submissions, Brian Bethel, Ashia Demeritte, Merlin Adams, and Taraceta Neely won the coveted Mall at Marathon shopping sprees at the following select stores, Kelly’s House & Home, The Sports Center, John Bull, Brass & Leather, and BTC.

Leading up to the grand finale shopping spree, Coca-Cola hosted a Trivia Showdown with the eight finalists to determine the four winners. Finalists were tested on their knowledge of World History, Pop Culture, Caribbean Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Facts!

After a few rousing rounds of trivia, the four winners were declared after each winning their spot in the shopping spree by answering their questions correctly and choosing the “Grand Prize” Coca-Cola labeled bottles at random.

The morning of the shopping spree Coca-Cola gave the winners exclusive access to the Mall at Marathon and its participating stores before their usual operating hours. Grand prize winners were greeted with wide smiles from Coca-Cola brand representatives and morning bites before the big event.

At the start of the thirty-minute clock the grand prize winners along with each of their Coca-Cola shopping assistants ran to the various stores collecting items in their arms and carts.

Merlin Adams, a husband and father of four was proud to have executed his game-plan at the end of the shopping spree. With toys, a new phone and materials for his home from Kelly’s, Adams felt accomplished in what he gathered.

Taraceta Neely, a winner from Eleuthera collected beautiful bags for herself and relatives from Brass and Leather and Brian Bethel bought matching athletic and outdoor wear from The Sports Center for his family.

The final winner Ashia Demeritte bought linens and household items in addition to a new phone from BTC right in time for Christmas.

Caribbean Bottling Company is proud to share the real magic of Coca-Cola with the grand prize winners and the may instant prize winners across the Twist To Win campaign. For more updates on new products, promotions, and events follow www.cbcbahamas.com.

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 The Coca-Cola Art Project Astonishes Art Lovers at The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival  

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NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products displayed their astonishing Coca-Cola Art Project (CCAP), during Baha Mar’s five-day Culinary & Arts Festival.                                                                                                                                                                              Earlier this year, Coca-Cola partnered with The University of The Bahamas’ Visual Art and Design Department for a culturally rich art competition. UB’s art students were challenged to create pieces surrounding the theme, Bahamian music.

As a result, 20 student works of art were made, with four students declared as winners at the CCAP exhibit opening in Baha Mar’s ECCHO: Art Gallery in August. To recreate the culturally stimulating magic felt at the exhibit’s premiere, the CCAP was featured at the FUZE Art Tent during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival.

Nine incredible pieces of art lined the walls of the Coca-Cola Art Project, four of which included the winning pieces from Jhanaisia Cole, with ‘Gaulin Bride’; Alyssa Pinder, with ‘Shotgun Wedding’; Nelson Gray, with ‘Untitled’; and Jaela Bowe, with the piece ‘Whims of Obeah, a Folktail’.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Additionally, an intimate listening room was built. It displayed students’ artistic processes, UB Visual Art and Design representatives, and a recap of the exhibit opening for audiences.

Art enthusiasts also enjoyed premium limited-edition CCAP keepsakes at the booth. Journals which featured a collage of all 20 student submissions on the front and back cover, postcards with an art piece on the cover along with the student’s name, title, dimension and materials on the back and pens designed with the CCAP’s dynamic logo.

Throughout the art festival diverse groups of people visited the art tent taking in the displays while enjoying the artistic insights from the listening booth.

Community and culture are always at the forefront of Caribbean Bottling Community, and it was boldly showcased during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival for the third consecutive year.

For more details on the Coca-Cola Art Project, events and new products visit www.cbcbahamas.com today!

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CWS Brings a Galore of Bubbles at Annual Jollification Festival  

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Caribbean Wines & Spirits team members smiling behind one of the company’s two bars at Jollification

NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Wines & Spirits (CWS), The Bahamas’ premier wines and spirits distributor delighted Jollification attendees with bubbles from their Bottega and Bouvet Ladubay sparkling wines and Besserat de Bellefon champagne lines.

Located in the Monument Circle on The Retreat grounds, CWS transformed The Retreat Garden into a lush lounge with Besserat, Bouvet and their latest product addition, Bottega, during the two-day affair.

The festivities kicked off Friday during BNT Member’s Night. Guests enjoyed exclusive offerings from CWS’s catalogue, offered exclusively to members.  Complimentary mixes or glasses on the rocks included El Tequileno tequila, Hard Truth whiskey, House of Angostura rum, Cross Keys gin, Nemiroff vodka and a slew of wines such as Fonesca Bin, Bottega and Besserat.

Guests also savored the ‘Jolly Paloma’ cocktail, an instant favorite made with El Tequileno tequila, Schweppes Grapefruit and Domaine de Paris rose wine.  To end the night, guests were treated to branded limited-edition wine tumblers as keepsakes.

On Saturday and Sunday, Jollification attendees delighted in glasses or bottles of champagne and sparkling brut or rosé wines while taking in the comfort of the chic lounge.  In addition to purchasing bottles for onsite consumption, consumers were also able to purchase bottles as gifts whether for themselves or someone special.

The sophisticated “bubble lounge” lounge was decked with velvet couches, gold rimmed cocktail tables, blue and pink pillows, and a white floral branded backdrop created for capturing the perfect picture.

Caribbean Wines & Spirits, a historic partner of the Bahamas National Trust was pleased to support Jollification 2025 to kick off the festive season and share their expansive range of spirits.

To keep up to date with all CWS products and events, visit their website at www.cwsbahamas.com today.

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