The Faculty of Management & Social Sciences (FMSS) of the University of Belize (UB) held three Marketing Expos to highlight student achievements and to reach the business, government, and other interested entrepreneurial stakeholders in Belize City, Toledo and the Capital, Belmopan.
The tenth annual Marketing Expo for the Belize City campus was held at the Princess Hotel on November 22nd There were 35 booths; 21 from the “Principles of Marketing” and 14 from the “Small Business Management” classes. The guest Speaker was Ms. Karen Lewis, the Director Retail & Small Business Banking at Scotia Bank.
Eda Arzu, a lecturer of FMSS and who was the principal organizer said, “Every year we ensure the students investigate potential of the Belize market potential to ensure products and services are not repeated and to make proper market assessments in the areas of environmental sustainability, market demands and economic growth and development. I am pleased to share some of the products that certainly stood out at this year’s expo: Backyaardigans Furnitures utilized recycle tires; Wood Brite Wood polish; and Antique Lights used recycled bottles and antique art pieces used to create chandeliers. Elite Lights recycled bottles to create chandeliers. Sweet Temptation Cupcakery provided efficient service for cupcake delivery by automating the service. Other groups that made an impact were Tropical skincare repellant, a 2 in 1 Skincare an insect repellant. Tropical Walk, customized slippers with the use of recycled products. Vino Tropical provided local wines (local cerosy and sour sop) as well as Vodka Especial a strawberry vodka. Sensation in a Jar (cake in a jar) Kasha Kum Up (Cashew marinate and bar-b-que sauces) were other notable groups.”
One of the judges for the Belize City expo, Jaime, the owner of Confetti Belize, is a graduate of UB’s Marketing program. The students were judged in two categories Most Creative Product and Most Attractive Booth.
Prior to the Belize City event, the UB Punta Gorda campus held its business expo on November 17th at the district’s Central Park. Coordinated by Ms Cecilia Martinez -full-time lecturer for Small Business and Ms. Shauna Sanchez – Marketing Lecturer. They were also assisted by Academic Chair Mr Tim Dami, Mr Glen Enriquez and Ms Gillian Flowers. Sixty students from the “Marketing” and “Small Business” courses took part in the expo which successfully demonstrated the theme “Embracing opportunities for growth through creativity, networking and perseverance.” The keynote address was delivered by Campus Administrator Roy Polonio who commended and encouraged the students for the excellent booths and presentations. While engaging the Punta Gorda community, the students distributed promotional items, including raffles and gifts as part of the marketing strategy. This spirit of entrepreneurship continued to the Central Campus in Belmopan.
On the 23rd of November, businesses and students from the Capital City came to the Central Campus in Belmopan for another Marketing Expo which was designed to reach stakeholders and residents of the western region of the country. There were 37 booths on display. 11 stalls represented Marketing students at the Associate’s Degree level and 12 represented Small Business Management at the Bachelor’s Degree level. There was also participation from the UB Central Farm Campus; Our Lady of Guadalupe High and ten business institutions. The purpose of inviting a local high school’s participation was to introduce the students to entrepreneurship at the earliest age and the invitation to high schools also provided visual stimulation to the business world and to become students of UB. The UB Small Business students were evaluated for creativity, promotion, distribution, customer information, banner, packaging, mission statement, student energy, customer service, professional attire, and communication skills.
The Central Campus expo was coordinated by Audrey Pascascio (MBA), a Management Lecturer. Pascascio expects an amalgamation of the initiatives to a national event as she puts it “It has been 5 years since we have been officially holding entrepreneurial events (Entrepreneurship Symposium and Marketing Expo) in celebration of global entrepreneurship activities. To date, I am convinced that we have accomplished the objectives of all our events. It’s time for us to move on and transform our entrepreneurial activities into one mega event that is expected to be bigger with more creativity and more inclusive of our stakeholders and other academic institutions. So, we are anxiously looking forward to November 2018 for the launch of our new entrepreneurial activity.”
The University of Belize is grateful to all companies who gave donations towards prizes for these events. Professor Clement Sankat, President of UB, praised the students and their academic supervisors for creativity displayed at these events. He said that this augers well for the future of young students to start their own businesses when they graduate. He indicated that UB and the country of Belize need to find the “ways and means” to support them in the journey ahead.
