The Caribbean Climate Innovation Center (CCIC) is one of the three components of World Bank/infoDev’s Entrepreneurship Program for Innovation in the Caribbean (EPIC). This is part of a seven-year $20 Million program funded by the Government of Canada through the World Bank to build an enabling ecosystem to foster growth-oriented entrepreneurs and profitable businesses that address climate change mitigation and adaptation needs throughout the Caribbean.
The Management Committee of CCIC is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs. Marcia Brandon as Chair with effect 10th August 2015. Mrs. Brandon will serve for a period one year.
Mrs. Brandon has been a member of the CCIC Management Committee since the inception of the CCIC in late 2013. She is a social entrepreneur and the Founder/Managing Director for the Caribbean Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Livelihoods & Entrepreneurship, which is headquartered in Barbados. She was also Founder/ Managing Director for Caribbean Centre of Excellence for Youth Entrepreneurship (CEYE) from April 2000 – 2013 and worked from1998 -2013 as Executive Director for the Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT).
She holds a Master’s in Educational Leadership from City and Guild, United Kingdom and Bachelor’s in Public Sector Management from the University of the West Indies. She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management, City and Guild, UK.
Some of her Key Achievements in Entrepreneurship in the Caribbean:
- Sourced over US$10million for regional youth entrepreneurship development
- Pioneered youth entrepreneurship development in the region to be recognized regionally and globally.
- Established over 5000 strong, durable partnerships for sustainable development with international, national and regional development organizations, public and private sectors, NGOs, CBOs, and individuals.
- Worked with CARICOM on creative, regional simulated training programs for at risk and vulnerable youth and women.
- Hosted, planned and organized the first regional youth entrepreneurship conference and awards ceremony– participants from over 25 countries, with international speakers at the UN House- 2003.
- Led Barbados Youth Business Trust to be named a Best Practice and Regional Resource Centre in 2000 & 2001 respectively by Youth Business International.
- Delivered presentations worldwide on youth and female entrepreneurship development including the Caribbean region, Hong Kong, Dubai, Latin America, Scotland, Ireland, the wider United Kingdom, United States of America and Canada. Assisted with the establishment of youth and female entrepreneurship organizations in the Region, Latin America, Syria, Africa, among others.
- Brought Global Entrepreneurship Week to the Caribbean.
- Recognized and awarded for contribution to youth entrepreneurship and development in the Caribbean.
- Developed business mentoring in the Caribbean.
- Designed and developed over 20 replicable entrepreneurship programmes to help the people of the Caribbean to effectively start and grow businesses.
The Management Committee of the CCIC warmly welcomes Mrs. Marcia Brandon as Chairman of the Committee.
Other members of the CCIC Management Committee include Mr. Meghnath Gosein & Mr. Ronald Dubrisingh (Trinidad & Tobago), Ms. Lisa Harding (Barbados), Mrs. Mona Whyte & Dr. Cliff Riley (Jamaica) and Dr. Ulric Trotz (Belize).
On Wednesday 29th July, 2015 the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) hosted its second Root Cause Failure Analysis Seminar at the Centre For Enterprise Development (CED), Innovation Avenue, Freeport. Due to the overwhelming demand for this session - the first of which was held at Cara Suites, Claxton Bay - CARIRI decided to host a follow up seminar to accommodate the requests from corporate Trinidad and Tobago.
CARIRI has recognized the demand and importance for awareness in metallurgical failures around the country and specifically in the Industrial sector. According to the Chief Executive Officer of CARIRI, Mr. Liaquat Ali Shah, the working plants today have been in operation for many years, and as a result, deterioration and corrosion is a major safety concern. Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) investigates not just the problems and issues that we face, but includes the contributing factors to such dilemmas that are a starting point of corrosion and industrial upheaval.
For this reason CARIRI has sought out Dr. Devendra Deo Narain Singh of India, a metallurgical expert since 2003. He has come to Trinidad to work together with CARIRI’s Metallurgy Unit to enlighten companies by workshops, seminars and site visits. In his presentation, Dr. Singh gave his expert advice on Metallurgy, stating that because of meteorological factors, Trinidad and Tobago is highly prone to corrosion of carbon steel. He also stressed on choosing an effective agency that would study these corrosions and give proper recommendations to their clients. CARIRI is proud to say that it has been ISO certified for many years and guarantees prompt and effective methods of testing and reporting.
Marco Nunes, a Metallurgy expert from CARIRI explained the different stages of Failure Analysis and the principles of root cause issues. He illustrated the different equipment that CARIRI has invested in, and how they are able to perform some of the most impressive calculations and results on different types of metals. In order to test thoroughly, different machinery is used at the various stages to give the client the most accurate readings on metallurgical compounds.
Frank Byron, also a Metallurgy expert at CARIRI, displayed and explained some of the case studies CARIRI has encountered over the years. He gave examples of different scenarios and how the analysis was performed by thorough investigation of what caused the corrosion.
The Chairman of CARIRI, Mr. Hayden Ferreira, spoke about the reality of problems that companies face on a day to day basis. He suggested that the problem will never come “packaged with specific remedies, but will instead come in many complex forms”, for which the client and the agency must understand. He added that as CARIRI continues to progress, it will identify more issues taking place in the country; whether in business development or technical services, and CARIRI will be there to create positive and continuous change.
This seminar was well received by representatives of numerous companies throughout the country, all of them interested in the presentations that were given, as was seen in an intriguing question and answer session that took place at the end of the presentations.
CARIRI and CED continues to fulfil its mandate of Research, Development and Innovation, not only in scientific research but also entrepreneurial development by providing services such as the Business Hatchery programme and the newly launched IAS (Idea Advisory Service) just to name a few. As the Chairman of CARIRI said, “CARIRI is not only about general research rather it is about applied research”.