Management at The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA) got a chance to sample the island’s newest vitamin beverage, ‘Junkanoo Splash’, when manufacturer, Kindra Crawford paid a recent courtesy call.

GBPA President, Ian Rolle, extended words of encouragement after eagerly sampling the various array of Bahamian tropical mixes and blends.  “We are certainly proud of your accomplishments and commitment to transferring a need into a reality. This illustrates how entrepreneurs can be creative in filling a niche for products or services that are needed.  Sometimes when entering business, we concentrate more on what we want to do rather than the demands of our customer base,” Rolle commented.

Crawford was excited at the opportunity to visit the Port Authority for the official taste-testing.  “Feedback from the public has been encouraging ,” she noted “and the positive response from the Port Authority is a stimulus in light of normal challenges facing new businesses.  They responded favourably to the actual product and also offered practical business advice going forward.”

‘Junkanoo Splash’ is Crawford’s newest venture.  Since childhood, some of her previous business forays have included souvenir production, Bahamian-made sundresses from Androsia fabric, beverage manufacturing and recycled handicrafts.

Grand Bahama and the Republic of San Marino share many similarities.  They both have average populations of over 40,000 persons.  Also, their economies mainly rely on finance, industry, services and tourism.  However, owing to its strategic location, Grand Bahama possesses an attribute that has caught the attention of this enclave microstate surrounded by Italy.

Christopher Columbus set sail from Europe to discover the New World, similarly Her Excellency Giulia Ghirardi Borghese, Resident Ambassador of the Republic of San Marino to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, embarked on an official tour of Grand Bahama in an effort to identify opportunities for doing business.

On hand to welcome Her Excellency were executives of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA) who hosted a private dinner in her honour and engaged in preliminary discussions. “From a logistical standpoint, we are in a prime location to allow businesspersons in Italy to get their products into north, south and central American markets very quickly from Freeport, rather than directly from Italy,” stated GBPA President, Ian Rolle.  “Therefore, we’re trying to form better business links between our two countries and endeavour to discuss these and other matters during the course of the Ambassador’s visit.”

Just over 24 square miles in size, San Marino claims to be the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world.  Although not a member of the European Union, it uses the euro as its currency and is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita).  It is considered to have a high, stable economy with primary emphasis on trade.