Caribbean’s Brightest Minds Converge in Belize for YLAI Business Forum

What happens when some of the Caribbean’s brightest young entrepreneurs gather in one place? New ideas, new partnerships, and fresh opportunities begin to take shape. That’s exactly what’s unfolding in Belize this week, where the U.S. State Department is bringing together Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative alumni for a high-energy regional forum. Over three days, these emerging business minds are not just networking, they’re sharing skills, building connections, and looking for ways to grow beyond borders. We dropped in on the event today to see how those conversations are already turning into action.

 

Katharine Beamer, Charge’ d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy in Belize

“This week we are hosting young entrepreneurs from across the Caribbean, here in Belize. This is a part of the Young Leaders in the Americas Initiative which has existed for many years. What we are doing today and yesterday is bring alumni of this program from across the Caribbean to get together and continue to build their network and grow their business and acumen, to share experiences and hear what they learnt in the U.S during their experience program. 00:42

 

Ronelli Requena, Owner, Zayvha Sarai

“A lot has to do with getting that mentor. A lot of us entrepreneurs feels like it is a journey sometimes, but with the YLAI program you get to be paired with a mentor and my mentor was phenomenal. She thought me how to get structure for my business and how to make it more of a sustainable venture and find balance.

 

Michelle Samuel, Owner, MNS Consultancy

“One of the tings that makes us different than the regular day to day person is that when we see a problem, we don’t think about the problem, we think about how we can solve it and different ways to solve it. And one of the things that YLAI thought us, it is in the tag line, don’t wait for change, create it.”

 

YLAI is a U.S. State Department program that equips up-and-coming entrepreneurs across the Western Hemisphere with the tools, skills, and support they need to grow their businesses and make an impact.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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