The Bahamas hosts women’s business forum for local and visiting entrepreneurs

Fifty-six businesswomen from across the United States and the Caribbean sailed to Nassau to attend a forum on emerging practices for female entrepreneurs. The forum, entitled “These Women Mean Business Trade Exploration”, was hosted by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and gave Bahamian professionals the opportunity to network with and learn from international professionals.

“Today we are proud to have these international delegates meeting with Bahamian entrepreneurs on the final leg of this tour. Our objective is for the women to network. They will be discussing trends and patterns as it relates to social media and networking, entrepreneurial networking and business opportunities. So, this is going to be the surfboard that propels the female entrepreneurs into their various disciplines and businesses,” said Dereka Moultrie, coordinator in the Ministry of Tourism’s Product Development Department.

The delegates were on a cruise that visited several other countries in the Caribbean including Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cozumel. The Bahamas was the final stop for the group.

The women in attendance represented a cross section of disciplines including those in social media, marketing, jewelry making, the straw industry, business management, and education.

“One of the main concerns local entrepreneurs selling authentically Bahamian products have is the high cost of marketing. This forum will propel them into social media marketing whereby they can promote their businesses and get their messages out at an economical cost,” Moultrie said.

Delegates discussed the power of social media marketing, networking and professional empowerment in the workplace during a panel discussion.

The event is a spinoff of the International Women's Empowerment Summit, which was scheduled to take place last year in The Bahamas. The event was postponed to later this year due to the passage of Hurricane Matthew.

Moultrie noted that the Ministry of Tourism is proud to support the advancement of women’s empowerment in The Bahamas and throughout the world.