The Trinitario Cocoa Webinar Series 2022

About the Webinar Series

Trinidad and Tobago produces the finest cocoa, boasts the largest inventory of cocoa plant material (The International Cocoa Genebank) and is home to the oldest cocoa research facility in the world. Trinitario cocoa is highly sought after by cocoa and chocolate connoisseurs around the world, fetching premium prices. For the countries of the EU where approximately 50% of the world’s chocolate is consumed, the opportunity to access a larger volume of the most sought-after cocoa variety in the world is highly desirable. For Trinidad and Tobago, expansion of the cocoa industry would be a boon for the economy. 

Overview

The grand finale (Episode 3) of the Trinitario Cocoa Webinar Series entitled The Cocoa Pitch was held on Wednesday 28^th September 2022, from 9:30 am to 12:30 noon (AST).

The Cocoa Pitch took the form of a “Shark Tank” styled business pitch event, featuring cocoa entrepreneurs/enterprises in the following categories:

1. Youth Start-Ups – Youth founders producing products or services within a cocoa enterprise or cocoa estate farm.

2. Medium-sized Cocoa SMEs – Mid-sized cocoa entrepreneurs or/cooperatives with a potential to scale up.

Seven (7) cocoa entrepreneurs/farmers, including two (2) special projects, pitched live, a 3-minute business case presentation to a group of distinguished investors and a live virtual audience with the goal of securing and accessing technical and capacity-building support, mentorship, gaining access to funding/finance or networking partners, to start-up or scale business operations.

Overview

The second installation of the three-part webinar series was held on Wednesday 25th May, 2022. In addition to featured remarks from senior government officials, participants were privy to a wealth of first-hand expert information from members of two panel discussions. Cocoa Excellence in Trinidad and Tobago and Trailblazing Women Cocoa Entrepreneurs in Trinidad and Tobago.