Successful mentorship sessions hosted by the CarIPI project

From 7 to 14 February, the CARIFORUM Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation (CarIPI) team and a group of mentors met with the first cohort of the Origin Link Product (OLP) mentorship programme. In total, 11 meetings were held with different producer groups from seven CARIFORUM member states: Barbados (1), Belize (1), Dominica (1), Dominican Republic (2), Jamaica (3), Saint Lucia (1) and Trinidad and Tobago (2). A total of 100 producers, intellectual property office (IPO) officials and other value chain stakeholders, including 48 women, participated in these meetings.

CarIPI’s OLP mentorship programme is designed to provide producers with technical assistance to develop business strategies based on IP rights. It aims to to enhance the competitiveness of unique agricultural and non-agricultural products produced in the CARIFORUM region. The programme started in 2021 and will run until the end of the CarIPI project’s lifecycle with a view to support new producer groups each year.

Mentors will provide technical expertise in the following areas: the identification of the most appropriate IP tool to be used by producers for their OLP; the development of specifications for the OLP; strengthening the capacity of each participating producer group to manage the IP management system developed; and developing a branding and marketing strategy for producers tailored for their unique products.

In the next few months, the mentors will be working one-on-one with each producer group to implement the programme strategy designed for it.