MONTEGO BAY, St James — The Made of More Entrepreneurs Challenge presented by

Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship –Caribbean (BCoEC) and the Arthur Guinness Project has come to a successful end, with five entrepreneurs securing a total of US$130,000 to grow their businesses.

The winners were Hellen and Averell French of Mount Pleasant Farm Chocolatiers, who have access to a loan of US$40,000. They also won the Sir Arthur Guinness Social Entrepreneur Award for a US$10,000 grant. Second place went to Patria-Kaye Aarons of Sweetie Confectionery with a loan amount of US$25,000; in third place is Marie Wilson of DejaFrut, with a loan amount of US$35,000; fourth is Jovan Evans, of AquaFlow Products & Services, with a loan of US$15,000; and in fifth place is Mervin Kerr of Island Integrators, with a loan of US$15,000.

The business pitch competition started two months ago, and after two rounds of elimination, eight entrepreneurs made it to the final round where they presented their elevator pitches to a panel of seven judges in front of an audience of fellow entrepreneurs and business leaders. The final event, held at the ATL Showroom and BCoEC’s accelerator space in Montego Bay, featured a virtual ‘drop in’ by Virgin Group founder, Sir Richard Branson.

All of them are Branson Centre Official Entrepreneurs who have completed the centre’s business skills training programme and continue to receive entrepreneur development support through its accelerator service offerings. They have spent weeks crafting their business growth plans and perfecting their pitches under the tutelage of Entrepreneur Programme Manager Lisandra Rickards.

“Through the multiple rounds of the competition and the hard work and preparation they put into their presentations, we have seen them grow and blossom. They demonstrate the breadth and depth of the talent that we have in the BCoEC programme, and they were ready and able to take on some funding in their businesses. We are really happy that, along with our partners Arthur Guinness Project, we are able to provide it to them,” Rickards said of the eight.

The Arthur Guinness Project donated US$400,000 to BCoEC’s access to finance initiative. Through the annual Made of More Entrepreneurs Challenge, the money will be lent to Branson Centre Official Entrepreneurs over a three-year period. Jamaica National Small Business Loans, the loan facilitator, has extended a special facility to BCoEC, which enables them to provide no collateral, low interest loans. All repayments go back into a revolving loan fund to sustain the pool and support other entrepreneurs in the future.

In order to access the funds, the entrepreneurs had to first demonstrate that they were able to repay the loans, which was determined in the initial rounds of the competition. In the finals, the judging panel selected the winners based on three main criteria: 1) will the use of funds enable transformative growth in their company; 2) are they committed to social or environmental impact; 3) did they deliver a compelling presentation. The competition was stiff, but at the end of day, five entrepreneurs were able to convince the judges that their cases were the most compelling.

“The entrepreneurial spirit and ideas that were showcased in the final pitch event was exciting and encouraging,” said LeVaughn Flynn, Senior communications manager at Red Stripe. “The legacy of many of Diageo’s brands has been built by entrepreneurship and bold thinking, with Guinness being one of the biggest successes. We’re proud to have created a partnership with the Branson Centre that not only rewards brilliant entrepreneurial ideas but also their social impact to Jamaica and its people.”

“What really stood out for me was how palpable the excitement and passion in the room was as the entrepreneurs gave their pitches and especially when the winners were announced,” BCoEC CEO Lisa Lake said. “It was amazing to see how many of the BCoEC’s Official Entrepreneurs came out to support their fellow entrepreneurs on stage. It’s a real testament to the power of the entrepreneurial community that we have helped to develop.”

Sir Richard Branson, who joined the event via Skype from New York, spoke of how critical it is for Jamaican entrepreneurs to address social and environmental challenges and to innovate and find new ways of doing things so that their businesses can be a ‘force for good’ in the world. He took three questions from the audience and finalists.

The judging panel included Marcus Richards of Greystone Capital; members of BCoEC board — chairman Tony Hart; Mark McIntosh, CEO Wallenford Coffee; Mark Anderson, managing director of Virgin Holidays; Ana Jones, entrepreneurship director at Virgin Unite — and Diageo senior executives: Blandine JnPaul Reid, head of marketing & innovation; and Dianne Ashton-Smith, head of corporate relations.