THE Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship in the Caribbean is looking to make another 20 entrepreneurs bankable as it opened its third round of applications to the public this week.

Since being launched last September by Sir Richard Branson of Virgin fame, the centre has taken on 33 entrepreneurs, provided them with extensive training and, for some, introduced them to mentors and potential investors.

Applicants don’t need any academic qualifications or business plans — the focus is on strong entrepreneurship abilities — but making the cut into the programme isn’t easy.

The first round took on a cohort of 13 young entrepreneurs, but the second cohort of 20, who entered the programme earlier this year, were selected from 200 completed applications.

Only 40 of those were selected for phone interviews, after which 30 went on to do personal assessments, which include a business pitch and testing for analytical thinking through case studies, before the final 20 were picked.

“We currently have an acceptance rate of 10 to 15 per cent,” said Lisa Lake, Branson’s Caribbean chief entrepreneur officer.

At the end of the training, entrepreneurs pitch a new business plan.

“After that we decide who is the right fit for the second stage,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

This is when the centre leverages its Branson brand to introduce mentors and potential investors to the participants.

Eleven of the 13 in the first batch were chosen for the second stage.

After this round, for which applications closes on July 7, another 20 entrepreneurs will be targeted before the end of 2012. The goal is to recruit 60 more entrepreneurs each year.

The Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, Caribbean is the second of its kind, the first being in South Africa. It is a non-profit organisation, with a mandate of helping entrepreneurs “succeed and create jobs to energise the economy and lift the region out of poverty”.

It generally works with entrepreneurs whose businesses are between one to five years old, even though they have taken on a few who are in their concept stage.

Lake also said that candidates should ideally fall within the age range of 18 to 35 years old.

The first cohort had an average age of 26 years old, while members of the second group was 31 years old on average.

Branson’s two-stage approach to developing entrepreneurs aims to help them create a firm business platform and produce a robust plan, and then, facilitate their exposure to networks, mentors, potential clients and investments opportunities without directly investing in the businesses.