It's About Time

Many Caribbean island nations have economic, social and environmental characteristics, such as small population, limited resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, excessive dependence on international trade and vulnerability to global developments. As a result there are a myriad of economic effects and societal issues. With a population of over 7 million the Caribbean Small States have a labour force of over 3 million, people of all ages with varying education levels feel stagnant or limited, not realizing their true potential due to lack of access and financial means. Even with some of the highest education standards in the Americas and mobile internet penetration at over 75%still individuals outside of the business community or social circles that afford them certain privileges do not benefit from a level playing field affording them equal access to personal and professional growth opportunities. Charities, NGOs and foundations have a mandate to sustain and improve the lives of those they serve, however often their budgets and resources are limited, they lack visibility and volunteerism is bound by geographical location. Additionally, businesses large and small scramble to find avenues of digital transformation, seek a more diverse and inclusive talent pool, and wish to be equitable partners in contributing to the environmental, social and governance of the communities they operate in with a sustainable and socially responsible focus.

Bandy operates on the principle of time banking, specifically geared toward Caribbean culture; the app is a digital circular network of individuals, businesses and the nonprofit sector where users trade hours instead of traditional currency. Individuals will download the app and join Bandy to browse ways to bank time depending on their availability, skill set and interests. Every hour of service provided is 'banked' as a time credit called “bandy hours”, once earned users can browse the app and use the interface to redeem said bandy hours.  Users can learn new skills, attend online workshops, find regional internships, get stylist tips or a home cooked meal. The possibilities are endless. For many, this means gaining access to education or vocational opportunities that would have been financially out of reach. Bandy's mission extends beyond a mere charitable gesture; we aspire to be a catalyst for social mobility, helping individuals identify sustainable sources of income, empowering them to take charge of their lives, and enhancing the fabric of our communities. As an integral part of the ecosystem nonprofit organizations will be onboarded and given insightful unique user profiles, they will use the app to post opportunities for individuals and companies to bank time in areas where they require resources and volunteerism. These posts could be anything from plumbing and landscaping to designing a website portal for donations. Thereby increasing civic engagement and community dialogue, the app capabilities will also include that of identifying aligned nonprofits to enterprise users to encourage collaboration. As a B2B2C social enterprise companies large and small will subscribe to various services tailored to their objectives. Our offerings include outsourced employee volunteer management, CSR initiative management, and tracking ESG metrics and data analysis. Bandy also serves as a vital talent identification and retention tool for corporate users including that of non subscribing enterprises. By posting redeemable opportunities such as internships, online workshops, and employee shadowing, they receive applicants who have already invested bandy hours, adding a meaningful dimension to the opportunities offered. Furthermore the app can be utilised by freelancers, consultants, and SMEs to post opportunities to gain access to specialized skills, offering cost-effective solutions and overcoming resource limitations.

As a self-governing ecosystem that facilitates exchanges of skills, knowledge and talents between individuals, the nonprofit sector and the corporate sector there are a multitude of benefits for all parties.  Individuals will benefit from a level playing field affording them equal access to avenues of personal and professional growth opportunities regardless of their financial means. Charities, NGOs and foundations, associations, social groups etc., will gain resources, visibility and a diverse more inclusive volunteer pool that is not bound by geographical location. Businesses Large and small subscribing and non, will ultimately be more economically sustainable and socially responsible.  Through this interconnected ecosystem, we strive to break down barriers, foster collaboration, and create a virtuous cycle of giving and receiving. Our vision is to transform the way people perceive and contribute to their communities, making community participation not just an altruistic act but a dynamic and enriching part of everyday life. In essence, we are building a digital bridge that unites diverse stakeholders in a shared commitment to community  and economic empowerment and holistic growth across the Caribbean.

Co-Founder Amy Grant-Duncan is a self-proclaimed global citizen in love with foreign cultures, experiences and the inevitable commonalities that always connect even the most distinct societies. This love of culture stemmed from her childhood in the US and was nurtured through her study abroad experiences to Eastern Europe and the UK in high school and college. Amy channeled her love of culture and history into a successful Marketing Career in the Telecommunications industry.  She has specialized in building Marketing Communication programs designed to use cultural and experiential insights to keep her clients connected to their target markets.Besides her career, Amy enjoys spending time traveling with her husband, friends, and family.   Amy Grant is an active member of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and completed a documentary in 2018 entitled “Two Deaths” which document the last months of her mother’s bout with Alzheimer’s.  While Amy Grant was born in Brooklyn, NY and spent most of her adult life living and working in the Northeastern part of the United States, after living in St. Lucia for four years, she fell in love with the Lucian people, spirit and life and considers the south-eastern Caribbean Island her forever home. While constantly exploring her Caribbean ancestral roots she continues to discover ways in which she is connected to communities in multiple islands. Team lead Jehan Chreiki is passionate about highlighting the potential of the people from the Caribbean. As a Trinidad native and adopted Saint Lucian Jehan has a love for all things quintessentially Caribbean and believes that the people of the region have boundless talent. she has cultivated a career across a diverse range of industries, from being a consultant focused on best practices, recruitment and employee relations, to over a decade of experience in operations management. Training, talent identification and retention are particularly strong suits of Jehan’s and to this day former staff have continued to prosper in their career paths. Prior to and during her tenure in the family enterprise Jehan was elected to serve on a state board of the Shipping Association of T&T by industry contemporaries. As a representative of a diverse group of companies she had to mobilize resources and people to work toward common industry and country goals. Jehan’s relationship with the community is deeply ingrained, rooted in a lifelong ethos of philanthropy and community engagement. Since childhood, being encouraged to participate in community service, support causes, and advocate for positive change. Transitioning into the professional realm, I volunteered with various charities, contributing to a group that prepared monthly meals for families of cancer patients in the children's ward of the public hospital.As a mother of a toddler, she actively seeks to instill a sense of community and equity, recognizing the importance of these values in shaping a compassionate future. These personal experiences significantly influence my perspective as a leader. Upon co-founding Bandy, my commitment to community involvement deepened. We are supported in an advisory board capacity by four Caribbean female powerhouses.

In Q4 ‘22 We conducted a manual proof of concept where we had 80 volunteers from Saint Lucia, Barbados, Trinidad and beyond. Each participant was asked to indicate interests and skills sets which we used to manually match opportunities for banking time and redeeming time. From this exercise we validated our hypotheses surrounding the target demographic such as age and participation rate.And made other interesting observations like more experienced professionals who are not currently enrolled in formal mentorship programs, are interested in sharing their knowledge to committed individuals. In addition, over 50% of people would be willing to bank time providing community services, professional services and general educational mentorship. Using the feedback from these interactions we designed user journey flows which ultimately led to a comprehensive UI and UX app design for our minimum viable product and version 2 of the app. Throughout the design phase there were several rounds of user testing and iterations. Presently we are in the final phase of development of the application and have been testing elements of functionality and user experience with multiple stakeholders.  As part of our go to market strategy we are developing and solidifying partnerships with regional educational institutions, public service organisations within our startup community.  We are in final stages of negotiations for 2 pilot programs. One for a regional telecommunications service provider with offices in the entire region and head office in our chosen startup market. And the other for a major regional corporation that has spearheaded many digital initiatives and tools in the Caribbean. In conjunction with identifying potential users and demoing the tools and benefits of the app we are in the process of designing targeted advertising campaigns across St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados.

During the inception phase of Bandy one of the underlying issues we faced and that is faced by many of our stakeholders is the lack of cohesive and shared data across the Caribbean especially in the small states. We hope that with robust data analytical tools and impact reporting support overtime we could work towards closing the gap on the data divide which could ultimately boost the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region. We are also looking to gain exposure to technical advisors and partners. We believe that it is integral to learn from our peers and would look forward to access to learning how other innovators are using technology to revolutionise their communities. We would use funding and access to additional financial resources to develop an in house technical team and expand our community outreach. 

While the concept of time banking is not novel and there are models in many different geographical areas, it is not present in the Caribbean region. Our Caribbean region has a wellspring of talent and potential that could thrive with a digital time banking platform. To be a hub for social innovation through the intersection of people volunteering their time, could address community needs, from sustainable agriculture practices to environmental conservation efforts. Imagine the ripple effect of positive change resonating across the region as the platform becomes a catalyst for tangible improvements in education, healthcare, and economical sustainability. We see bandy as an empowerment tool for Caribbean people where the profound sense of community at the heart of the culture can be amplified. Our social enterprise business model is unique and designed to benefit people in and out of the labour force, the nonprofit sector and businesses across the region.

In the Caribbean region lies untapped potential and a unique opportunity for transformative change. In the quest for community building, economic empowerment, and social mobility, the introduction of bandy, a digital time banking platform emerges as a beacon of hope, poised to revolutionise the way individuals and businesses interact. Here's why the Caribbean region is not just ready but primed for the benefits of the bandy platform. Caribbean Community is a collective spirit that binds diverse island nations together. A Digital Time Banking platform amplifies this sense of unity, providing a virtual space where individuals can exchange skills, services, and support. This interconnected community becomes a catalyst for collaboration, breaking down geographical barriers and fostering a sense of shared purpose. The unique Caribbean identity, rich in cultural diversity, becomes a driving force for collective growth. A virtual marketplace where talents and services are exchanged creates a dynamic ecosystem where everyone contributes to the well-being of the community. Bandy has the potential to strengthen the economies of Caribbean islands by leveraging the wealth of skills and resources within the community. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), local businesses, and freelancers can collaborate seamlessly, boosting productivity and expanding market reach.For instance, a local artisan in Jamaica can gain services from a digital marketer in Barbados. This cross-island collaboration not only enhances the quality of services but also contributes to the economic resilience of individual islands. Bandy can become a conduit for economic empowerment, allowing businesses to thrive in a collaborative environment. In a region where access to resources may vary, Digital Time Banking becomes a catalyst for social mobility. Individuals with unique skills or talents, regardless of their background or location, can actively participate in the digital marketplace. This democratisation of opportunities ensures that everyone has a chance to contribute and benefit from the collective growth. Imagine a scenario where a talented musician from Trinidad collaborates with a graphic designer from the Bahamas. Through Digital Time Banking, these collaborations become not just possible but commonplace, opening doors for individuals to showcase their talents on a broader stage and elevate their socio-economic status. Bandy is more than just a transactional platform; it's an empowerment tool. Individuals who may face barriers in traditional economic structures find a levelled playing field where their skills are valued. Whether it's a local expert in sustainable farming or a tech-savvy entrepreneur in digital literacy, everyone has a role to play and a contribution to make. This empowerment extends beyond economic realms, influencing personal and professional growth. Through collaboration and skill exchange, individuals gain new insights, acquire diverse skill sets, and enhance their capabilities, contributing to a more knowledgeable and empowered society.

Our impact goals include, promoting sustainability and social responsibility. To Foster social mobility by helping people identify new income streams and economic inclusivity.  How we are planning to measure this impact is through tracking our user journeys. With their permission, we will monitoring how users upskill and diversify their personal and professional portfolios.  This is not exclusively for the individual users we will also be tracking data from the businesses users and the collaborations they enter into with non profit sector users.

Our solution is an app that uses social sciences and principals of sustainability practices.

1 Full-time CoFounder

1 Part time CoFounder

4 Contracted Development team

4 Volunteer Advisory Board Members

4 Remote Part Time Interns

The ideation of the solution began in April 2022 whilst brainstorming and researching over the next few months the team lead Jehan was selected to be in the fourth cohort of the Giving Tuesday Fellowship, Starling Collective, out of thousands of applicants. The fellowship, provided coaching, peer support, focusing on community building, movement and learning systems change. At the culmination of the fellowship Jehan pitched the idea and as a result received a micro-grant to accelerate the solution. A few months later in 2023 the business was registered and the advisory board members were recruited. 

The primary leaders are the CoFounders Amy and Jehan who aim to create a team of people who have “bandy-ability” which we define as people who are inherently curious, that wonder and have the ability to ask questions and experiment to find the answer, this will promote transparency and empower employees. We have both been in the corporate world and seen how bureaucracy can hinder employee development, we want to honour our team members' voices and take agency of their own initiatives. We wish to evoke a no blame culture and ensure our team feels the psychological safety to take risks and collaborate.  We promote shared tasks and training, bringing people together no matter their role or responsibilities to create synergies.  Presently we are only recruiting interns from our target demographics since community outreach is a major part of our go to market strategy and this requires proximity and understanding of nuances.  In future to remain diverse and inclusive we plan to recruit via many avenues, to attract a diverse talent pool, we will walk the talk so to speak and utilise our app to help identify from our different markets as we grow organically throughout the Caribbean region.

As a B2B2C social enterprise our innovative business model is designed to cater to the needs of three distinct client groups, ensuring mutual benefits and sustainable impact. The first segment of our clientele consists of corporations, who serve as revenue generators by subscribing to various services tailored to their objectives. Our offerings include outsourced employee volunteer management, CSR initiative management, and tracking ESG metrics. Bandy also serves as a vital talent identification and retention tool for corporate users. By posting redeemable opportunities such as internships, online workshops, and employee shadowing, they receive applicants who have already invested bandy hours, adding a meaningful dimension to the opportunities offered.

The second group of clients gaining access to our platform is the nonprofit sector, comprising charities, NGOs, and foundations across the Caribbean islands. These organizations, often making significant strides for remarkable causes, face resource and visibility challenges. Bandy steps in by vetting and providing them with unique user profiles, offering insights that users wouldn't easily obtain through extensive research. Our aim is to elevate communities by facilitating the participation of anyone with time and the desire to contribute.

Finally, individual users form the third vital component of our ecosystem. These individuals join Bandy to explore diverse ways to bank time based on their availability, skill sets, and interests. Upon earning bandy hours, users can navigate the app to redeem them for a multitude of opportunities. Whether it's learning new skills, attending online workshops, finding regional internships, receiving stylist tips, or enjoying a home-cooked meal, the possibilities are limitless.

Bandy is more than a platform; it's the architect of a digital circular network connecting individuals, corporations, and the nonprofit sector

Through a series of safe harbour meetings throughout the Caribbean region and networking we were able to validate the areas needed for social investment from our stakeholders and used that information to design our robust B2B subscriptions.  Our plan is to design tailor made bundles of services dependent on the client, starting with offering discounted pilot programs and trial subscriptions initially to get buy-in from carefully selected multi-island businesses.  After the first quarter of operations we hope to gather enough activity details from other selected businesses that are non subscribing users on the app to demonstrate how a subscription could benefit their businesses.  In conjunction with business development we are applying for grants that we are eligible for and entering pitch competitions. Our longer term plan will be to take on investment capital specifically for impact investors since we want to ensure that our mission does not get skewed.