On Saturday, December 18, the U.S. Embassy hosted its first Holiday Bazaar dubbed “Entrepren(hers) in the Square” to support alumnae of its Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE). The bazaar held at Worthing Square, Christ Church, featured 16 former and current participants of the AWE program, who showcased everything from jewelry to educational services on Saturday afternoon. The AWE program, now in its third year, supports women entrepreneurs and their businesses around the world by providing enterprising women the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch and scale successful businesses. While attending the bazaar, U.S. Ambassador to Barbados Linda Taglialatela met with all of the entrepreneurs and thanked them for participating.
Ambassador Taglialatela explained, “This is our first time bringing together graduates of our program at Worthing Square. We’ve worked really hard helping them to develop their ideas and make them into businesses, and as you can see, they have been highly successful.” Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Senator Dr. Romel Springer, also congratulated the women on their business success.
With the support of the U.S. Embassy, AWE began in Barbados and has since expanded to include cohorts in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and Saint Lucia. In partnership with other entrepreneurship programs including the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), the U.S. Embassy remains committed to gender equity and inclusion and supporting the Caribbean’s economic prosperity.