By CHESTER ROBARDSBusiness Reportercrobards@tribunemedia.net

An engineering firm,CARIBBEAN Civil Group(CCG), has been chosen asthe Bahamian winner ofPioneers of Prosperity's(PoP) entrepreneurialaward, receiving a $40,000grant and the chance tocompete with otherCaribbean companies for upto $60,000 more, it wasrevealed yesterday.

Coordinator for the pro-gramme, Abby Noble, saidCCG was chosen fromamong 110 other Bahamianbusinesses, including severalother engineering firms, ina highly competitive contest.She added that CCG waschosen primarily because ofits reinvesting in its employ-ees through training.

"We look for things likerole model potential, howthey can inspire the nextgeneration of entrepreneurs,how they are investing in theworkers and creating a high-er level of human capital,how they're investing in thecommunity through men-toring other young businessleaders or doing something

that's good for the environ-ment," she said.

Principal of CCG, RayMcKenzie, said the compe-tition involved a rigorousprocess, but he expressed hiselation at having been cho-sen as this year’s countrywinner for the Bahamas.

"We are quite honoredand humbled quite frankly.It was an exhausting process,so we're quite pleased to berepresenting the Bahamasgoing forward," he said.

CeremonyMr McKenzie will join

nine other country winnersfrom throughout theCaribbean in Jamaica onSeptember 11 for the region-al award ceremony.

CCG is a transporta-tion/traffic and civil engi-neering consulting firmwhich has done work withBaha Mar, Kerzner Interna-tional and the Ministry ofPublic Works, and has com-pleted projects in the Turksand Caicos and Guyana.

" Our core expertise ispublic works, major infra-structural works and majordevelopment on the privateside in terms of engineering

and construction aspects ofthose developments," saidMr McKenzie.

He said his company’smost important resource ishuman capital, in which 3per cent of total revenue isreinvested through constanttraining.

"We firmly recognise thatour number one resource isour people, and we are in aknowledge based profession,so we invest heavily in ourpeople," Mr McKenzie said.

"We do the lion’s share oftraining offshore, but wewould like to see thatchange such that there iscredible training engineerscan get onshore. We investheavily in that."

CCG also visits 10 schoolsper year to speak to studentsabout the engineering fieldand steer those adept atmaths and science towardscivil engineering.

"We won't be here forev-er," said Mr McKenzie.

His company, with fiveemployees, competes in aglobal market, but especial-ly against foreign firms whoenter the Bahamas on theheel of big developers.

"We would like to seelocal firms get a greater per-

centage of the local project,"he said. "As developerscome in, they tend to bringtheir team who they've hadrelationships with, firmsfrom previous projects, andthat's always a challenge."

Mr McKenzie said findingthe capital to begin his busi-ness was difficult, but afterhaving his plan scrutinisedby a scholarly body at theCollege of the Bahamas, hewas able to secure a loanwith a Bahamian bank.

"Business was challengedfrom the beginning," hesaid.

Now, Mr McKenzie saidhe would like to see the reg-ulators of the engineeringsector step up to the plateand help it grow.

He said opportunities aris-ing from the Economic Part-nership Agreement (EPA)with the European Unionwill help the sector to get onits feet and think globally.

"We (CCG) stay on thecutting edge because wecompete globally," said MrMcKenzie.

The PoP is a globalawards program that "seeksto inspire a new generationof entrepreneurs in emerg-ing economies", and with

sponsorship from the Inter-American DevelopmentBank (IDB) and John Tem-pleton Foundation, aims touplift and promote smalland medium-sized business

in this region. According toa PoP release: "Unlike oth-er award programs PoP doesnot end with the distributionof the award. Rather, theaward is just the beginning."

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BUSINESS

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‘Pioneering’ company reinvests 3%of revenue in developing workers

A BANK EXAMINER in the Central Bank of the Bahamas bank supervision department, Kathrina Rodgers,has passed the Series 7 exam in Florida after training with the Nassau-based Nastac Group. She is shownhere with the Nastac Group’s Laquel Hall

Bank examiner passes Series 7