Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative awardee
When Shaunda Yarde of Golden Crunch Coconut Biscuits received the news that she was going to partake in the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), she was “pretty excited”. Speaking to Sunday Times Magazine, Shaunda said that she “couldn’t believe it”; it was her “dream come through”.
US President Obama’s Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative Professional Fellows Program aims to develop entrepreneurial skills and enhance economic opportunities for young professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Of the nearly 4,000 applications for this Presidential program, Yarde was one of four Guyanese out of 250 selected business and social entrepreneurs representing 35 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Shaunda believes that this experience should grow her business in ways she never thought possible, as she will be “receiving mentorship and experience [that] may not be available in Guyana.”
Looking forward to the exposure the initiative offers her, Shaunda stated that she most likely will be placed in a bakery setting to observe their daily practices and be exposed to how they approach their marketing of the product and how it can be applied in her setting. In addition, she would be offered time management classes to make her a more efficient person, to the benefit of her business.
The initiative is a five-week program that provides on-the-job learning and experience at the relevant start-ups, small businesses and non-governmental organizations in cities throughout the United States, and in partnership with community groups and American universities.
It took years of determination, effort and experience for Shaunda to even find the confidence to apply for the YLAI. She had only recently applied for a local business plan competition – the Scotiabank Vision Achiever LivePitch 2016 business plan competition, in collaboration with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI)– but didn’t make it to the second round.
However, with her usual determination and her favourite words of inspiration from Nelson Mandela: ‘the greatest glory in living lies not in never falling but in rising every time we fall’, she moved on; it was “back to business as usual” though she did have some good news: her biscuits were now being sold in supermarkets.
While she had begun making her biscuits in 2011, she registered her business in 2013, from which it took her took two years to get all the legal documents together and approved (manufacturing licence, approval from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) etc.) before she could begin to offer her products to supermarkets.
Looking back, she noted that “early years are hard as it seems progress is slow…” but she maintained that it was – and still is – an “excellent learning experience”.
She also took advantage of all the help she could get when she registered in the small business bureau; attended Guy Expo twice and took part in the Business Expo here in Guyana, to continuously promote her product.
She said that it is “humbling to think that my business provides employment and can somewhere, sometime help my community and by extension help my country”, because she feels that her product is something Guyana can share with the world.
“It is exciting and I am proud to know I may be able to make a biscuit and export, and everyone can know this is Guyana,” she added.
So far she is “pretty satisfied” with the direction and progress of her business. But she also pointed out that “you are never really satisfied, but you reach a point where you can say you have done your best for now, then you move on to improve your standards, and you progress. I’ve improved my packaging – a better plastic, laser printed full colour labels…”
all-natural biscuits from her grandmother’s recipe
