 A St. Lucian business startup that introduces medical tags to the Caribbean market in response to COVID-19 represents at the Entrepreneurship World Cup EWC 2020 Finals. Gilland Avril, founder of Engage, competed with 99 other finalists from around the world at the MISC Global Forum event from the 18th to the 20th of October 2020. Avril was selected as the EWC Global Finalist after winning the local leg of the pitch competition. We have a report on the recent recognition ceremony held at the GIS Studios. Gilland Avril is the 2020 champion of Entrepreneurship World Cup EWC St. Lucia. In a recognition ceremony, Avril was awarded US $850,000 worth of services from global partners of EWC for his pitch to introduce meditags or medical tags to the Caribbean market in response to COVID-19. This is the latest venture under his company Engage. Avril believes that his award-winning project was fated. I had a medical condition, a heart condition, and I felt that, you know what, I need to bring this to light because I started a project with the ministry, well, I was initiated a conversation with the ministry, and COVID-19 stopped that. So I was like, how do I now re-initiate that conversation with the ministry of COVID-19? So I said, Michelle contacted me. I was like, oh, Michelle, do I really want to take part in a competition? And I think two days before the end, I actually submitted my project. And lo and behold, I actually won the competition. And through Investiture, part of Investiture actually opened the doors. The same thing that I wanted to have done, that I could not have gotten a meeting of the CMO and her team through Investiture and winning this competition that allowed me to do this. Avril St. Lucia's 2020 EWC champion was also given the opportunity to compete with 99 other champions from around the world in the global finals at the MISC Global Forum held virtually this year, from the 18th to the 20th of October 2020. Entrepreneurship World Cup country director, Michelle Samuel, explained the journey to competing at the international level. St. Lucia's who have the dream of sharing the global stage with other phenomenal and change-making companies must first go through screening round one, the preliminaries, and finally the national finals in order to get that chance. After making it to the national finals, the winner will participate in EWC Accelerate 2 and can be selected as one of the EWC top 100, who will then compete at the global finals in Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, as a result of COVID, the global finals will now take place online, which means we can all witness it and be part of it. This summer, EWC St. Lucia received 104 applications for the local leg of the competition. The top nine finalists were also recognized at the ceremony. Judges present, OECS Business Development Officer, Quasie Roberts and entrepreneur, Dinelle Florius, offered congratulations and words of encouragement to the winner and other finalists. I want to offer special congratulations to the winners. I think you did yourselves proud, did your families proud. We would like that this fire that is started to burn in St. Lucia, with what Michelle is doing here and supported by Invescent Lucia and so to continue to spread throughout the region. And I just want to encourage all of the entrepreneurs because being an entrepreneur myself, I know how tough it is, especially in the market in St. Lucia and the Caribbean as a whole. It's not easy to grow a business, especially a tech based business. And I'd also just like to employ you guys to never give up, because that is what is going to make you successful. The EWC is pegged as one of the world's largest and most diverse pitch competitions and support programs for the next generation of entrepreneurs globally, with 175,000 entrants applying from 200 countries. From the Government Information Service, I am Jesse Leance reporting.