July 2, 2008 — Opportunity is knocking for local businesses through the U.S. Interior Department's Island Business Link website.
"The idea is to facilitate private-sector development," said Katherine Macdougall, who represented the Interior Department at a conference Wednesday at the Westin Resort and Villas. The conference was sponsored by the V.I. Economic Development Authority.
Macdougall holds a fellowship at the Interior Department and is in the territory to promote the department's Island Business Link program. She is pursuing a master's degree in business administration at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago. The department has signed on other master's-degree candidates to work in the other territories.
The website connects businesses in any of the U.S. territories with mainland businesses or investors, as well as resources such as government and non-governmental agencies.
"I think it will definitely bring business down here," said Jason Monigold, who owns Computer Express and Plantain Press on St. John.
Registration is free and residents may post as many businesses as they like, but each business must have a unique email address.
Participants may opt not to allow other island businesses to see what they've posted so their ideas are not appropriated by other local businesses.
"But it's a catch-22," Mcdougall said. "It may be an opportunity for island businesses to partner with one another."
All email between island and mainland businesses gets routed through the Interior Department to maintain confidentiality and so the department can track the number of businesses that connect.
Only a handful of people attended the conference, but all showed interest, asked questions and offered suggestions for fine tuning the website.
"Can you link to websites?" asked Cristina Canizares, a St. John accessories manufacturer.
Business owners should include their websites in their business descriptions, Macdougall said.
Jose Penn, who owns several St. John-based companies with his family, suggested that the address section be set up to differentiate between the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. It currently just says Virgin Islands.
Macdougall kept notes of suggestions and comments throughout the conference. She said she will pass those ideas on to the appropriate Interior Department staff.
The website has only been up two weeks, but 21 local businesses have already registered, Mcdougall said.
She urged business owners to attend the Interior Department's fifth annual Business Opportunities in the Islands conference, scheduled for April 6-8, 2009, at the Sheraton Waikiki in Honolulu. Registration will open in a few months. For more information, visit businessopportunitiesconference.com.
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