Mentorship Programme: technical assistance meetings
From 13 - 17 November, CarIPI has scheduled technical assistance sessions with producers of Origin-linked Products (OLPs) from the CARIFORUM region. These producers have been selected to take part in the second phase of the project’s Mentorship Programme. During their field mission, the mentor team will be visiting sponge producers from the Bahamas, steelpan producers from Trinidad and Tobago and arrowroot producers from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The Mentorship Programme, started by CarIPI, aims to support origin-linked product producers in the CARIFORUM area. Its goal is to assist these producers in devising intellectual property (IP) strategies to secure certifications for their products as Geographical Indications (GIs), certification marks, or collective marks. Additionally, the programme aims to extend this protective coverage to the European Union through the ongoing bilateral negotiations between CARIFORUM and the EU.
During these face-to-face technical sessions, the mentors will offer their specialised knowledge in several key areas. This will include helping producers select the most suitable IP tools for their OLPs, creating specifications for these products, enhancing the capacity of participating producer groups to handle the IP management system developed, and providing direction in crafting branding and marketing strategies that align with the uniqueness of their products and the selected IP tool.
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The CarIPI OLP mentorship programme is designed to provide producers with technical assistance to develop business strategies based on IP rights to enhance the competitiveness of unique agricultural and non-agricultural products produced in the CARIFORUM region. The programme, which commenced in 2021, will run until the end of the CarIPI project’s lifecycle and it is envisaged that there will be one new cohort of producer groups immersed in the programme each year.
The work will be undertaken in the context of Activity 18 of CarIPI’s Annual Work Plan 4 – Mentorship programme targeting producer groups and entrepreneurs in the CARIFORUM Region.