BizConnect Caribbean has officially begun its mandate to champion business development in Saint Lucia and the wider region with its inaugural workshop under the theme, ‘Turning Ideas into Business’.
Yesterday’s initiative brought together entrepreneurs eager to learn from an expert facilitator and from each other as they navigate what is often a rocky path for business owners.
The chief facilitator for the event was visionary entrepreneur and ecosystem builder Darlisa J. Diltz. Diltz serves as the chief entrepreneurship strategist for Foundations Entrepreneur Development Company, located in Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas, and is a longtime associate of BizConnect Founder Michelle Samuel. Throughout the workshop, Diltz showcased how entrepreneurs can utilise various development tools, including the Design Thinking Framework, to empathise, define, ideate, prototype, and test their ideas to determine viability and ultimately encourage success.
“I followed Michelle’s work for many years,” Diltz told St Lucia Times in an exclusive interview.
“We are similar in our roles and our respective places and if she asked me to do anything, if I’m able to do it, I’m doing it. The heart and passion for entrepreneurship is paramount for me. So anytime I am given the opportunity to share, I avail myself because I think it is important to share and educate entrepreneurs on the right ways of entering entrepreneurship.”
Samuel said the training was meant to open doors for entrepreneurs, which are typically closed to them or locked behind an expensive paywall.
“What I wanted to do was to create something where it doesn’t just provide education to address some of the gaps that persons would have identified, but also putting action behind the training that they receive, because the feedback that persons give is that there is training, but there’s nothing happening after that,” the BizConnect founder revealed.
“They’re always asking what happens next’ or what’s the next step for me. And also, if there is training, where the support that comes with it. Because, for the most part, we’re dealing with people who are charting in unfamiliar waters, or who need some type of support. And for them to get that support, they have to be beating on doors, sometimes banging on doors to get no response, no reply, or they have been charged a fee and they cannot afford it. So [we are] adding mentorship and that type of support that business owners need to basically guide them through the journey.”
Feedback from the entrepreneurs was largely positive, with even seasoned veterans such as BizConnect Founding Member and Chamber of Commerce Board Member Gidden Augustin giving the initiative high marks. The regional entrepreneurship and digital skills programme, launched in Saint Lucia in 2025, has several other initiatives on the horizon, including a Caribbean Franchise Summit slated for March.
