FOLLOWING a thrilling judging period of over 100 entries, Invest Saint Lucia (ISL) is proud to announce the winner of its recent Logo and Name Contest for the upcoming business incubator and accelerator programme. A grand reveal was hosted at ISL’s head office on Thursday, December 12, 2019 when Deyondre Louis of Mon Repos was awarded the EC $5,000 prize.
Making the official announcement, Project Coordinator Dave Headley, said, “Today marks one step closer to a programme envisioned to provide the necessary support to the innovative and creative thinkers of Saint Lucia. I would like to take the time to thank all 126 persons who participated in the competition. The youngest person being 16 years of age. The review committee did express their amazement with the creative work submitted—a testament to the talent Saint Lucia has.”
The Business Incubator and Accelerator Programme is meant to intentionally stimulate entrepreneurship on the island. It is ISL’s hope that this entrepreneurship hub will nurture the new businesses and ideas into full-fledged, successful projects from the bottom up, and to provide already established business owners with assistance to catalyse their product or service into markets.
The winning submission included the name “BOOST” in a bright logo with a launched rocket—a symbol typical for accelerator projects. The name also signifies the intended nature of the business incubator and accelerator programme.
Louis is currently attending Middlesex County College in Edison, New Jersey. Although his friend Aliyah James collected the prize on his behalf, 19-year-old Deyondre Louis was elated about winning the grand prize.
He said, “Winning this contest means a lot to me. I am passionate about art and graphic design, so just having my submission stand out from the others says that my craft is being recognised and that’s something I’m happy about. It just motivates me to keep improving and continue doing what I love.”
Louis said that he intends to use the prize money to ease on the burden of his tuition cost especially since he pays for his studies himself. “If you are doing something you might as well give it your best. Of course, I had my fingers crossed,” he said.
To other competitors, Louis left this message, “It’s always a good idea to participate even if you don’t think that you’re good enough, you must always give things a try. Don’t get discouraged because you didn’t win but remember that there is always room for improvement, and you could always try again.”