Foto: Howard Bulkan (derecha) recibe el Gran Premio de Pioneros de la Prosperidad del Hon. Bruce Golding (izquierda), Primer Ministro de Jamaica

¿Normal y Corriente? No exactamente.

Los recursos naturales de Guyana son la envidia de la región. Es más, en el 2008 las exportaciones alcanzaron un valor de US$800 millones (equivalente al 71% del PIB) en materias primas tales como oro, azúcar, bauxita, diamantes y madera. No obstante, aparentemente perdido entre la abundancia de minerales y maderas, el recurso más importante de Guyana es su gente. Las habilidades del guyanés promedio deben elevarse de categoría si sus salarios y la prosperidad fueran incrementados, pero eso no está sucediendo. El desafío es que la tala de árboles y la extracción de minerales proporcionan pocas posibilidades para que sus habilidades se eleven de categoría. ¡Hay tantas maneras de talar un árbol! El reto que enfrenta Guyana es sencillo: ¿qué necesita hacer el país para garantizar que sus recursos naturales sean una fuente elevada y creciente de salarios no sólo ahora sino  para las generaciones futuras?  Guyana no necesita mirar más allá de Howard Bulkan, el Funcionario Ejecutivo Principal (CEO) de la Empresa Maderera Bulkan con base en Georgetown, para la respuesta. Si Guyana quisiera crecer y prosperar la “primera persona” modelo necesita convertirse en la estrategia nacional del país. 

La Empresa Maderera Bulkan (BTW) no es la compañía normal y corriente. Su enfoque representa una suerte con el modelo tradicional de silvicultura en Guyana.  Según la Comisión de Silvicultura de Guyana — en el 2007, en el país dominó la tala básica de todas las maderas de exportación en términos de volumen de exportación, valor global, empleo en el sector, y crecimiento de la industria. Con un promedio anual de crecimiento de 28% desde el 2000 y unos niveles de empleo superando el resto de la industria maderera combinada (incluyendo aserraderos, depósitos de madera, fabricantes de contrachapas, artesanías y carpinteros de muebles).  No hay duda que la industria maderera es la “reina” de Guyana¹. No obstante el modelo de Howard Bulkan se enfoca en una cosa: la persona. Pero no sólo cualquier persona—la Empresa Maderera Bulkan crea su propia prosperidad y esa para su país, enfocándose en cuatro grupos clave de personas: clientes, dueños, trabajadores y su comunidad.

Lo que distingue a BTW desde el mismo inicio es el enfoque en sus clientes. Antes que Howard produjera un solo producto, pasó un año viajando por el Caribe para identificar qué productos tenían la demanda más elevada y estrechando lazos de unión con potenciales clientes. Mediante su investigación, Howard se dio cuenta rápidamente que un tronco sin tratar y procesar podía alcanzar diez veces su valor inicial cuando procesado de forma apropiada. En sus propias palabras “talas un árbol y lo puedes exportar por US$ 300, ese mismo árbol si lo conviertes en molduras en vez de US$ 300 obtendrás US$ 3,000, y creamos muchos trabajos”.  El valor adicional crea un ciclo virtuoso no sólo con ganancias incrementadas para los dueños de BTW, pero también con salarios más elevados para sus trabajadores, inversiones continuas en innovación, y todavía, a nivel nacional, protección adicional para los propios bosques de donde sacamos los árboles. De las doce compañías madereras en Guyana, Howard es el único que tiene un horno para secar madera, que es el primer paso para agregar valor a la madera. Cuando Howard por fin empezó la Empresa Maderera Bulkan con un pequeño préstamo de US$ 30.000 de un banco local, sabía exactamente qué tipos de productos de madera con valor añadido buscaban sus clientes. 

Esta falta de procesamiento con valor añadido de otras firmas guyaneses significa que con el tiempo Guyana no está logrando enfocarse en otros grupos de personas clave—sus trabajadores— para destrabar el potencial pleno de sus recursos y desarrollar una economía orientada más hacia el crecimiento. 

Howard entiende que su énfasis sobre el valor añadido requiere un personal calificado.  Él, por lo tanto, trata a sus empleados como el activo más importante de su compañía. “Invertimos mucho dinero en capacitaciones continuas para nuestros trabajadores,” expresa Howard. “Nos damos cuenta que nuestros empleados son la columna vertebral de la compañía.”  Los trabajadores de la Empresa Maderera Bulkan no sólo se benefician del desarrollo de sus habilidades sino también de salarios altos y en aumento que reflejan el valor incrementado que ellos aportan a la compañía. 

El modelo de negocio de la Empresa Maderera Bulkan se enfoca también en mantener el valor de los bosques de Guyana para el pueblo guyanés de hoy y de mañana.  Debido a que el modelo de negocio depende de tener un suministro consistente y continúo de madera de alta calidad, la Empresa Maderera Bulkan es también un fuerte apoyo para la extracción sostenible de los bosques en Guayana (no se cosechan más de 20 hectáreas por acre para permitir el crecimiento continuo de los bosques).  La Empresa Maderera Bulkan ha hecho lo imposible por integrar su cadena de abastecimiento de manera que ahora puede garantizar una cosecha sostenible para el suministro de madera en sus operaciones. 

Howard Bulkan se centra en sus clientes, trabajadores y generaciones futuras y es por eso que la Empresa Maderera Bulkan ha sido escogida la ganadora en el concurso de la concesión del Gran Premio de Pioneros de la Prosperidad del Caribe en el año 2009.  Este concurso atrajo a no menos de 580 empresarios de países tan diversos como Haití y Las Bahamas e industrias tan diversas como seguros, tecnología y madera. 

Todos sabemos que Guyana tiene unos recursos naturales ricos en sus bosques, minerales, fauna y flora, de los cuales prosperan muchos negocios, pero la Empresa Maderera Bulkan ha demostrado a esta amplia región que en Guyana hay también compañías de clase mundial.  Compañías tales como la de Howard demuestra el enorme potencial que tiene Guayana—no sólo en sus recursos naturales pero aún más importantes, en sus gentes.  Al asociar la abundancia de recursos naturales con clientes sofisticados y exigentes, trabajadores capacitados, dueños estratégicos y una comunidad que mira hacia adelante, la Empresa Maderera Bulkan está creando un modelo duradero para la prosperidad. El último grupo clave de personas que Guyana necesita para garantizar su prosperidad futura es un grupo de dueños de negocios dinámicos, tales como Howard, que pueden señalar el camino para una Guyana más próspera.  ¡Hagamos que el resto se oriente ahora hacía el futuro! 

Nicholas Buckley | OTF Group
Asociado
Proyecto Pioneros de la Prosperidad
Sede: 385 Concord Avenue – Suite 100
Belmont, MA, USA 02478
Tel.:  617.209.7506 | Fax 617.209.7501
www.otfgroup.com

¹http://www.forestry.gov.gy/Downloads/Fact%20Sheet%202007.pdf

To make your way around Managua, you need to have a keen knowledge of the local sights and a gut intuition for distance; offices and homes in Managua do not have addresses but rather have spatial coordinates [e.g. kilometer 8 off the road towards Masaya is a side road facing south, 300 metres beyond opposite the gas station].

Starting a business in Nicaragua is much the same way, you need to have keen knowledge of the local business climate (since little market data exists) and a gut instinct for how you can reach your consumers. Being an entrepreneur in Nicaragua is challenging for many reasons, only one of them being how to get your business grounded in a competitive strategy that can be successfully implemented. Yet the rewards of entrepreneurship are plenty; this is something that many Nicaraguans understand and embrace. Just ten days before the application deadline for Pioneers of Prosperity program, 40% of the applications from across the 6 countries were from Nicaragua.

Nicaragua, the Central American country with the most recent memory and the most profound vestiges of socialism, is also shaping up to be the country where the grassroots enthusiasm for the private sector is strongest.

In a business landscape that has been barren of seed capital, an economy where risk was avoided and competition were discouraged, a program like Pioneers of Prosperity, which seeks not only to identify and invest in business owners who are making a difference in their country but also seeks to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs, has tremendous potential to make an impact.

Individuals respond to incentives, and communities follow role models. Pioneers of Prosperity… through rewarding individuals who have built businesses that generate value for their customers, their owners, their workers and the future generations and through shining a light on entrepreneurs who can serve as role models to other business leaders and  the youth…is a grassroots movement become the mainstream.

-Abby Noble
Pioneers of Prosperity

Along the highway from the El Salvador International Airport into San Salvador, billboards dot the landscape. The one that stood out most to me was one addressed to all Salvadorians by the newly elected government: “Unir, Crecer y Incluir” or in English, “Unite, Grow, Include”. There is no more succinct message than that for a country that has emerged from a destructive civil war no more than 20 years prior, has experienced rapid economic growth, and has the vision of the growth being inclusive and promoting greater equality rather than widening the income inequality gap as rapid economic growth sometimes does.

These three words on the billboard very much reflected the culture of El Salvador I experienced firsthand over the next few days. Salvadorians are always working; working long hours, working conscientiously and diligently, working to plan ahead for tomorrow. And yet, nearly every Salvadorian I met was in a cheerful, upbeat mood; it was rare for a Salvadorian to not be smiling or laughing 10 minutes into any conversation.  I thought to myself that these people must love working so much that they couldn’t be happier doing anything else. But it turns out, that work is only part of how they identify themselves. They have rich family and community lives in which they engage when they are not working. As well, the country has a vibrant artisan side, with colorfully painted wood furniture and paintings that apart from being aesthetically pleasing also have deep symbolism and folkloric meaning.

While it is only government that can implement the right policies that can facilitate a good business and investment climate; it is only the private sector, and the actions of entrepreneurs that can grow an economy. Sustainable, robust and inclusive economic growth comes from bottom up; it comes from individual business people entering market economies to provide customers with innovative and valuable products and services. It comes from businesses investing in the human capital of their workers. It comes from businesses thinking about how their strategy and practices align with that of the community, and how they can use their businesses to promote a better future for the whole country.

-Abby Noble
Pioneers of Prosperity

Who was your role model when you were growing up - was it your father and mother?   Maybe it was someone in the spotlight, such as Mohammed Ali, Bono, or Cher?   For your children, it could be Renaldo, Lady Gaga or Miley Cyrus.  The truth is most children have an idol they want to emulate.   American television capitalized on this by thrusting Kelly Clarkson and others into icons on the aptly named, “American Idol.”  Further, we have an endless array of sports and business notables in the media.  But are these idols the best role models? 



Those who follow Kanye West as their role model will have a very different experience than those who follow Beyonce.  An example of role model's influence is found every day in every neighborhood, and some can create huge problems.  More than 50,000 gang members were initiated in Los Angeles, after yearning for the respect of their neighborhood role models.  This is not a developed world problem.    According to Amnesty International, gangs cripple Jamaica’s inner cities and the Jamaican Gleaner reported the 2008 murder rate approached 1,600 on the island.   Cape Town has an estimated 100,000 gang members -- many in the “Cape of Fear” section of town, and Nigeria’s Bakassi Boys are notorious for vigilante based crimes.   



Many social organizations are taking on this problem.  From the U.S. Department of Justice’s Weed and Seed program, where 300 offices across the U.S. bring investments to neighborhoods, to Greg Boyle’s LA Homeboy Industries, with the slogan, “Nothing stops a bullet like a job,” there have been heroic, long-term efforts.  The best long-term view is from the Buffalo community leader who said the only way to address the problem is to “give people something to live for other than a gang.”



In developing nations, efforts are innovative and wide-spread.  The Barra Mansa municipality in Brazil hires young people to participate in government decisions.  In Port Elizabeth, the Stepping-Stones One Stop Youth Justice Centre supports young people in trouble with the law, who are successfully rehabilitated on the values of citizenship and reintegrated back into society through skills training.  These groups simultaneously provide an alternative view from gang life, while presenting pro-social role models.



What value can the right role models bring to this situation?   For role models to have a pro-social effect, they must exude positive values, have star quality, and their stories must inspire as real options for those growing up in impoverished areas.   This is where introducing the Pioneers of Prosperity (POP) may provide some help.   These pioneers grew up in weak economies, and often in dire situations.   They worked hard and became successful by continuing when many would have given up.   In addition to providing jobs to those in their communities, they quietly led their firms and communities into a better place.

“

Business role model” is a term often viewed as an oxymoron.    At worse, when business people make news, it is to expose corruption.  Some business newsmakers have been anti-role models, from Charles Ponzi’s postage stamp scheme in the 1920s to the more recent antics of Bernie Madoff.  Even when businesses make news for positive reasons, the newsmaker seems too far removed from the daily problems of the disenfranchised to serve as role models.   How many really believe they will become the next Bill Gates?   In addition, there are some who see all business as an un-necessary evil that exploits the poor. 



These three issues are not the case with pioneers of prosperity.   These pioneers are role models and pro-social ones at that.    Among the pioneer of prosperity winners in Africa, AAR Health stands out as being among the only insurance firms that both insures against and treats HIV.   The story of Janet Nkubana of Gahaya Links is inspirational, from her beginnings in a refugee camp, to her ability to employ more than 4,000 women in rural Rwanda.   Her firm employs with no notice of ethnic heritage, trains, and pays above average wages.   All Gahaya employees are treated with dignity.   Each winner in the pioneers of Prosperity program is selected for their pro-social behavior.  They add real value for their customers, are profitable, treat their workers as partners, and have sustainable business strategies that support their communities and environment.



The most recent POP winners were from the Caribbean, and were honored in a ceremony in Jamaica on September 11, 2009.   Alternative Insurance Company of Haiti, founded in 2001 by Olivier Barrau, provides a range of insurance products aimed at Haitians earning less than $4 a day.  Robert Lopez of Belize’s Hummingbird Furniture Ltd. produces high-end furniture, and after starting his business in his house, with one other worker, he has grown the business to more than 50 employees.  Further, he only buys wood that has been approved for harvest by the Forestry Department of Belize as part of a sustainable forestry plan.



The list continues, as Sacha Cosmetics and Analytical Technologies of Trinidad, the grand prize winner – Balkan Timber of Guyana, or even runner-up firms, such as Mockingbird Hotel of Jamaica or Belize’s Lodge at Chaa Creek, all have one thing in common.   They are pro-social role models.  They are socially responsible entrepreneurs that struggled to succeed and in doing so created a much better life for their workers and communities.   They do not seek the spotlight.   But we may all be better off if the spotlight shines on them.  

-Michael Brennan, Seven Fund

 

I sat down with finalist Liz Cupples to talk about her experience with PoP.

What does it mean to you to be a Pioneer of Prosperity?

The most amazing thing about the experience is forming links with all these outstanding entrepreneurs; that's one group.  The regional entrepreneurs, you can share and exchange ideas and best practices.  For example, we've linked with Bulkan in Guyana.  The process by which they extract their timber also protects the environment and  I want more eco-friendly products like that in our homes.  There’s also connecting with people like OTF Group and SEVEN, with a deep experience in business strategy – it’s very valuable to be able to exchange ideas.

What encouraged you to apply?

We applied with the encouragement of the Barbadian Service Industries Consortium; organizations like BCSI that look out for business are very important.  They are one of the most active in the region.  The application process was also very easy.

What are you thinking going into the competition?

Initially I was very nervous, but I’ve been getting some very good advice to just be myself and talk about why it is we do what we do.  Yesterday, I heard that the Prime Minister is going to be at the final awards ceremony.  It's so much bigger than we thought it would be.  It's like a dream come true.

-Elizabeth Hooper, Seven Fund

I am watching these ten great entrepreneurs from throughout the Caribbean, and they have much in common, not just with one another, but with all the true entrepreneurs anywhere in the world. I wonder where these traits come from. Can entrepreneurs be made or are they just born that way. Here are three traits they have in common, you decide:

1.    They cope with ambiguity well. They would have to as most of the economies are not growing, and lack specialized infrastructure and large amounts of high quality human capital.
2.    Failure is not disgrace. In fact, great entrepreneurs see failure as the fastest way to learn, and they seek to fail faster than their competition, more frequently than their competition, and most important: they seek to fail originally, and never the same way twice.
3.    They embrace the future. They do not revere the past, ‘the good old days.’ They are not event-driven, nor do they make excuses, point the finger, or wait for the government to be the master economic strategist and tell them what to do, or how they will be protected or subsidized. They are self determined, are shapers of the discourse,  and have placed the locus of responsibility for their own future, simply and squarely, on their own shoulders.

Are entrepreneurs born or made? The complicated answer is they are born with some pre-dispositions deeply embedded in their genome. They have a high threshold of intelligence, a function of the parents probably, and like to take rational risks which may be correlated with levels of dopamine in the brain; they integrate between abstract thinking and gut emotions very well, making decisions easily, and this may be due to the number of mirror neurons in their brain. They spontaneous trust which is dependent on the placement of certain receptors in the brain. Scientists will tell us more in the next few years.

But, sometimes, nature gives way to environment, and culture and education do have a positive impact on creating even more entrepreneurs. And the strongest possible impact culture can have on an individual is through role models, those who embody these values, and are unafraid to demonstrate them. And I am looking at ten of them right now.

-Michael Fairbanks, Seven Fund

The Miami Herald did a great story on Pioneers of Prosperity.  I also encourage you to read this recent article by Michael Fairbanks in the Jamaica Observer. 

Miami Herald - Innovative business contest focuses on Caribbean, by Jacqueline Charles

Jamaica Observer - Entrepreneurs are 'In the River,' by Michael Fairbanks

-Elizabeth Hooper, Seven Fund

Silburn Clarke of Spatial Innovision shared some thoughts with us for the Pioneers of Prosperity blog.  Silburn is one of the finalists from Jamaica.  Here is his story:

Silburn was Born in Carisbrook, in deep rural St. Elizabeth Jamaica, but grew up in Higholborn Street  in Central Kingston and at various rough inner city addresses.  His mother was a housewife and entrepreneur (shop owner, rental agent).  His step-father was a fire officer.  His paternal grandfather was a haberdashery owner on Spanish Town Road and owner of a fleet of trucks that transported rural market folk to Coronation Market in Kingston, the largest farm market in Jamaica and the Caribbean.  His maternal grandmother was a St Elizabeth farmer and higgler who travelled to town every weekends on grandpa’s trucks.  Silburn’s father was a scientist with the Ministry of Agriculture who is credited with introducing poultry farming to Jamaica.  He dabbled in business on the side.  His paternal grandfather was a Manchester/St. Elizabeth businessman.

In other words, Silburn is the latest addition to a very entrepreneurial family.

Tonight Silburn is one of ten pioneering entrepreneurs in the Caribbean who are vying for the title Pioneer of the Prosperity for the Caribbean.   When asked to reflect on the Pioneers of Prosperity program, here is what Silburn had to say:

All the PoP firms have a compelling story of survival and prosperity in a harsh environment.    All have emerged triumphant and resilient despite the odds.  In fact one could say they changed game, changed the odds and created their own favourable odds.   

How do we find other green shoots emerging from some of these harsh landscapes ?

The stories of the PoP finalists demonstrates that every Jamaican and Caribbean child, no matter their initial circumstance, can succeed, soar  and earn recognition on the global stage.  All Jamaican and Caribbean people are potential Usain Bolts of commerce, science, religion, sports, music , the arts.    Tonight the Pioneers of prosperity programme is showing that if we take the time to look closely inwardly, we will find those who have been laying down markers for guidepaths to the secret of unlocking the potential that is uniquely Caribbean.   

Tomorrow will indeed bring a new and great dawn.

-Elizabeth Hooper, Seven Fund

 

The 2009 Pioneers of Prosperity Caribbean final event is underway in beautiful Montego Bay Jamaica.  There’s an amazing vibe here in the air, with the excitement of the judges, finalist competitors, and all the sponsors and special guests who have arrived on site for the program.  This promises to be a true celebration of entrepreneurship in the Caribbean.

Last night, the entrepreneurs were welcomed at a special dinner featuring speeches from individuals including Andreas Widmer of the SEVEN Fund, Audrey Marks, CEO of Jamaican firm Paymaster, Ambassador Bernal of the InterAmerican Development Bank, and Julie Kennedy of Pioneers of Prosperity.  It was a fantastic chance to mingle with the different entrepreneurs.  The productive tension in the room was tangible.  We watched great conversation unfold, as a Trinidadian firm connected with a wood supplier from Guyana, and talked about the importance of engaging with broad global networks of productivity.  

Today, each of the finalists will be presenting to a panel of judges.  Stay tuned for posts from the finalists throughout the day.

-Elizabeth Hooper, Seven Fund

 

The SEVEN Fund's Andreas Widmer helped welcome the finalists at a dinner in their honor. The following is an excerpt from his remarks:
It is appropriate that the Pioneers of Prosperity Awards Program is coming to the Caribbean. One of the earliest supporters of the idea to find and celebrate the best entrepreneurs in emerging markets was the late Sir John Templeton, a Bahamian. His foundation was and is one of the core Funders of the program to this day. I would like to dedicate this wonderful event celebrating entrepreneurs to his memory.

Meeting the country winners is always an exciting and enriching experience. Their business acumen and enthusiasm is inspiring. They are living proof that good businesses can flourish even in the most difficult of circumstances.

It strikes me that of all the various parties involved and interested in economic development, these entrepreneurs are the ones who actually put their very livelyhood on the line for the cause. Entrepreneurs carry the greatest risk in the pursuit of economic progress, and their companies efforts and results speak for themselves. That is why we call them Pioneers of Prosperity.

-Andreas Widmer, Seven Fund