Lisandra Rickards' sock it to 'em entrepreneurial spirit

Originally published on December 20, 2016 in the Jamaica Observer by Rachael Barrett.

Most Jamaicans are familiar with the entrepreneurship spirit as a staple of our society. We like to ‘tun our han mek fashion’, and from the streets of Kingston straight through to Montego Bay, locals know there is no shortage of enterprising folks vending ‘from a pin to an anchor’.

Encouraging this entrepreneurial spirit and offering training, mentorship and financing resources to boost business savviness is the spirit behind the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship— Caribbean (BCoEC). The partners who founded the centre are part of the large component of our best and brightest who have trained abroad and returned to help build and grow the local business environment.

Fresh from a series of meetings at Branson HQ in London, incoming CEO Lisandra Rickards shares her own journey from Jamaica to Chicago, sharpening her skills in the MBA programme at Harvard and then answering the internal call to return home, where she found kindred spirits at the BCoEC.