BCCI Awards the Winners of 2024 Expo Competition

The winners of the annual Expo Belize Marketplace Competition were awarded by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry earlier today.  In a brief ceremony at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex, the business organization recognized three winners in various categories.  They were selected from MSMEs that participated in the recent expo.  Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano with the following story.

 

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

The 2024 Expo Belize Marketplace took place at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex earlier this month, attracting over ten thousand visitors over its two-day duration.  Organized by the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, this annual trade fair brought together businesses from across the country to network, expand their customer base, and showcase their talents and services.  Today, the private sector organization awarded winners in various competition categories, including Best Overall Booth, Most Outstanding Up and Coming Entrepreneur, and Best Micro Booth.

 

Abigail Bood, Owner, Hey Abbz

“It’s been quite a journey, honestly, to see all the dedication and hard work that we’ve had to put into the expo, you know.  I remember sitting on one of the shows and telling other entrepreneurs that when it comes to the expo it’s a lot of work and to be able to really and truly bring our best self forward, really and truly grinding and doing all the work, all the behind the scenes that people don’t see out there at the Expo, to see it come to fruition and see the results of it has been quite a blessing.”

 

For a second year consecutively, Abigail Bood has won Best Micro Booth.  This morning, her effort was acknowledged by the chamber.

 

Andrew Usher, PR & Marketing, BCCI

“Fun fact about Ms. Abigail is that she’s not only the 2024 Best Micro Booth Award Winner, but she was actually the 2023 Best Youth Entrepreneur Award Winner.  He Abbz was actually established on the basis of authentic craftsmanship, faith and community.  While marketing jewelry is the presumed entirety of Hey Abbz, its true passion is people, to expand child sponsorships and offer employment opportunities to a single mother in a rural area.”

 

This year, over a hundred and thirty-seven businesses, eighty percent of which are micro, small and medium enterprises, participated in the expo.  Among them was Little Ceramic Painters, the brainchild of Aaliyah Herbert.

 

Andrew Usher

“After graduating junior college in 2023, Aaliyah knew she wanted to start a business combining her passion for art and working with kids.  Inspired by popular sip and paint events, she decided to add a unique twist with ceramics and that’s how Little Ceramics Painters was formed.”

 

Herbert was honored with the prestigious title of Most Outstanding Up and Coming Entrepreneur, making history as the inaugural winner in this exciting new category of the competition.  She further explains how Little Ceramic Painters came to be.

 

Aaliyah Herbert, Owner, Little Ceramic Painters

“It was during the pandemic when we were in quarantine and a little bit after that, sit and [paint] started to happen.  But I wanted to do something different where it’s not having to do with alcohol itself, but on canvas, because a lot of people feel like they can’t draw and this is where ceramics comes into play because it’s like painting, but more in a 3D form so you don’t have to worry about not doing lines or coming out because you can always fix it up with the paint, so it’s definitely easier.”

 

For Best Overall Booth, Smart Belize walked away as the winner.  The scores were based on creativity, professionalism, innovation, and efficiency.

 

Tristian Coleman, Marketing Manager, Smart Belize

“It  took months of planning, you know, we came up with a concept.  It’s something that we started to work towards.  We made sure that this event, we wanted to show what we can bring to the table and that’s exactly what we did.  Truthfully, you know, there was so much work that went into place for this that by the end of the expo we had actually forgotten that we had entered the competition.  So when we got home, I said, you know what, I remembered that our PR [department] submitted our entry and I checked and saw that we won.  It’s a testament that really you have to give all you can to make sure that you put in the work and you will [reap] the benefits of your hard work.”

 

The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry aims to ignite the business community’s passion for pursuing entrepreneurial ventures that leave a lasting impact. Isani Cayetano for News Five.