PIONEERS OF PROSPERITY AWARDS PROGRAM LAUNCHED! Pictured from left to right sitting is Sharon Miller, Operations Manager at the Inter-American Development Bank; Julie Kennedy, Pioneers of Prosperity Director for the Caribbean Region; Abby Noble, Pioneers of Prosperity Country Representative for The Bahamas and Dale McHardy, Bahamas Development Bank’s Manager of Business Advisory Services Department. Pictured standing is Anthony Woodside, Acting Managing Director of The Bahamas Development Bank; Dionisio D’Aguilar, President of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Valarea Miller, Bahamas Development Bank’s Senior Assistant Manager for Business Advisory Services. Photo by Eric Rose.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 marked the official start of the Pioneers of Prosperity Caribbean Awards Program in The Bahamas.  The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, The Bahamas Development Bank and The Inter-American Development Bank came out in show of support for Pioneers of Prosperity by attending a launch event held today at The Bahamas Development Bank.  The event was opened by Anthony Woodside, Acting Managing Director of The Bahamas Development Bank, Dionisio D’Aguilar, President of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Sharon Miller, Operations Manager at The Inter-American Development Bank who all expressed enthusiasm for the Program’s debut in The Bahamas and confidence in the country’s ability to deliver winning business models. 

“The program strives to create greater prosperity in the most challenging of markets. This is especially important, as we all know, given the global economic situation. Pioneers of Prosperity is founded on the fact that innovative ideas and dynamic business models exist in even the most challenging of markets, and that greater prosperity will ensue if these local models of success are better understood and replicated effectively,” said Miller of the Inter-American Development Bank, during her opening address.

The event was attended by various financial experts from leading local banks as well as a number of entrepreneurs. Pioneers of Prosperity representatives took questions and also spoke one on one with persons in attendance.

Pioneers of Prosperity is a global awards program that seeks to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs in emerging economies by identifying, rewarding, and promoting truly outstanding businesses who can serve as role models to their peers.  

In addition to being eligible for grants of up to $100,000 USD to invest in technical infrastructure and training for their companies , winners of the Pioneers of Prosperity Award will be connected to networks of technical expertise, potential investors, and other cutting-edge entrepreneurs on the local, regional, and global level.  

Applications for the Pioneers of Prosperity Award must be submitted online and can be found at http://pioneersofprosperity.org/Application/Application.html.   The application period for the award will close on March 9th.

For additional information on the Pioneers of Prosperity Awards Program, visit www.pioneersofprosperity.org.