In preparation for rolling out the online platform for straw market vendors, the committee in charge of the venture has completed a Family Island Associations Survey.
The key discovery? Bahamians have a long way to go in discovering the power of the Internet.
The report, still in its review stage, reveals that only 16 percent of those surveyed in the handicraft industry believe an online presence can help them improve profits.
Don Demeritte, a lead consultant with the Bahamas Agriculture and Industrial Corporation (BAIC), said the power of the Internet must be realized.
“At the end of the day, we’re talking about bringing two different cultures together,” he told Guardian Business.
“The market in downtown Nassau is more fast-paced. On the islands, it’s more about training, preparing and waiting for opportunities. From what I saw, about 16 percent saw it as a means of really increasing profits. We need to educate Bahamians on the power of the Internet.”
He added that most people surveyed “did not understand the depth and enormity”.
The pilot project involved seven Family Islands, Demeritte explained, including Mayaguana, Crooked Island, Long Island and Exuma, among others.
The study showed that islands closer to the U.S. and Nassau tend to have easier access to the marketplace and better structures in place to produce and move the products.
The online platform initiative is being funded through a $313,000 grant from Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with the remaining funds coming from BAIC.
A total of $500,000 will be spent on software, website development, staffing, training, research and fact finding.
The latter was the purpose behind the recent seven-island survey, Demeritte added.
