Bajan ecopreneur excels on world stage

by SHAWN CUMBERBATCH shawncumberbatch@nationnews.com

YOUNG ECOPRENEUR Joshua Forte has provided further proof that Barbadian innovation and business ideas can excel on the world stage.

The founder and chief executive officer of biotech-agritech company Red Diamond Compost is one of eight global finalists in the Youth Ecopreneur Programme (YECO), a joint initiative of the International Trade Centre and the G20 Global Land Initiative under the United Nations Convention To Combat Desertification.

When the finals take place at ChangeNOW in Paris on March 31, where global innovators, investors, policymakers and corporate leaders will gather to accelerate sustainability solutions, he will be the only representative from the Caribbean making a pitch to win US$10 000.

However, Forte, who was initially one of 1 500 proposals from more than 120 countries, has his eyes on an even bigger prize – moving Red Diamond from a start-up in Barbados to one selling its products to the world.

“We’ve come a long way and we are at a place where the direction is very, very clear in how to move Red Diamond from a small research and development operation in Barbados to a global enterprise for sure, and there is no doubt about that,” he said.

Red Diamond develops regenerative agricultural inputs derived from organic materials such as Sargassum seaweed biomass and tropical plant resources. Its circular production model transforms under-utilised organic resources into high-value bio stimulants that enhance soil health, improve crop performance, and strengthen climate resilience.

“Where we are now is we have our two flagship products, the Supreme Sea organic bio stimulant that’s made from the Sargassum and Liquid Sunshine, organic plant food made from a plant called tithonia,” Forte said.

“We are now seeking to transition from our research and development to a commercial operating facility, and then eventually bring back the compost and the mulches and these other amendments online.”

Help build healthy soil

The company was officially established in 2014, but its story began around 2011-2012 when Forte suffered from chronic fatigue and found his solution not in pharmaceuticals but the consumption of nutrient-dense foods such as kale, collard greens, bok choy, Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage and arugula.

The “huge burst of energy” he gained from eating these leafy greens spurred his interest in “creating these inputs for the soil that would help build healthy soil and healthy plants”, something reinforced when he saw the impact non-communicable diseases were having on Barbadians, including the youth.

The influx of Sargassum seaweed in Barbados and the Caribean also provided an opportunity to put the brown algae, which many people saw as a pest, into productive use.

“The early indication point for commercial viability was in 2017. That’s when we first had any sort of products on the market. Thankfully, through Export Barbados at the time with the Bloom Cleantech Cluster, around 2019-2020, and coming up from there, we were able to get some grant funding to do efficacy trials on the products,” he recalled.

Those trials in Spain and England showed that Supreme Sea and Liquid Sunshine were comparable with similar products on the market “and in some instances better in performance”.

“For 2026, a key component of Red Diamond now is how we transition organic materials, organic biomass, into precision regenerative soil inputs. That is what we call the Diamond Matrix System,” he shared.

“We’re going to be including a lot more mechanisation and automation to the process, and tracking all of our inputs and outputs to have a very detailed positive climate impact in the actual production process, but also being able to measure what the real impact on the soil, the soil micro organisms and the crops is.

“So it’s a kind of end-to-end solution that we’re developing and packaging that would allow us to be able to licence this to other countries and other regions. And it’s not just limited to the Sargassum and the tithonia, but we’d be able to virtually use any type of organic biomass and turn it into a very targeted product.”

For Forte and his “core team of four” at Red Diamond, participation and success in YECO has already been a major benefit and his hope is that this will multiply from March 31.

The programme seeks to drive the green transition by investing in youth-led enterprises focused on land restoration and green business innovation. It began with a global Bootcamp phase comprising 225 ecopreneurs from across the world.

After this stage, 25 ventures advanced to the accelerator, 20 in the land restoration cohort and five in the green business one. Red Diamond secured its seat in the accelerator through the programme’s fast-track pathway following its initial application.

From there, participants received structured mentorship, executive coaching, legal and intellectual property guidance, and pro-bono legal services through global law firm Sidley Austin LLP.

After completing the accelerator phase, participants were required to pitch competitively to advance to the final stage of the awards. Only eight ventures were selected as finalists – Forte was among them.

He sung the programme’s praises, explaining that it covers “every single area of business you could think of, from sales, intellectual property, and operations, to efficiency and climate impact”.

Build for global audience

“Even down to things that we entrepreneurs would deal with on a regular basis, like stress management, team management, team development, these are the things that programme laid out,” Forte said.

“A lot of the subject matter, because I’ve done multiple programmes over the years, I was familiar with, but the perspective, the detail and the context specific to somebody in the green business land restoration space, that, to me, was what made it really special and really impactful.

“Many of the other programmes I’ve been in, even green focussed programmes, weren’t necessarily structured from a perspective of understanding my specific context as a small entrepreneur in a small island developing state trying to build something for the global audience.

“But that’s exactly how this programme is tailored and it is amazing to me how detailed and thoughtthrough every phase of the programme and the sessions are.”

Another major benefit for Forte was the fact that “we submitted our key challenge areas, and they sought out mentors for us and these are mentors from within the region that I have, professionals that are well experienced in their fields and are able to directly address these key challenges and problem areas that I have”.

He was happy that YECO reinforced the importance of intellectual property.

“We had an intellectual property coach as well and intellectual property is one of my favourite components in this programme because they really hit home how critically important it is. And gave some real world examples and traumatic stories about what could go wrong, and you really understand the importance and value of it,” he said.

“For businesses in general, especially for us in Barbados, when it comes to the ideation and development of intellectual property, it is something that I think we need to really take a lot more seriously.”

As he prepares for the finals, the innovator recommended YECO to “any person in the land restoration and green business space”. He is determined to “bring home that win at the finals in Paris” in a category where the other four participants are from Argentina, Kenya, Malawi and Philippines.

“The other finalists have some really, really impressive start-ups and projects that they’re working on as well. So it’s an honour and a privilege to be named in the top five in the finalists for the land restoration category,” Forte said.

“I’m going to give it everything that I have, and I am looking to come out with the win from the competition and for the company as well and the partnerships that we intend to secure.”

Forte believes his success at YECO so far was new evidence that Barbadians could reach world-class standard.

“I come from very, very humble beginnings here in Barbados and for me, it is wanting to show our people that it’s possible. It’s definitely been a lot of hard work, I can’t even begin to tell you the trials and the challenges and the struggles, but I have been unwavered in my commitment and dedication to achieving our mission, because I truly believe in it,” he said.

“I want what I do and what I create to be a signal and an indication to other people, especially young men and women in this country, that we have what it takes to have a global impact, with our voices and with our actions and our ideas and what we create.

“If you really look into it, we have had that innovativeness, historically, in Barbados for many years, but what we really need to do is hone in on really understanding the details around how to nurture that and how to protect it and how to scale it. For me, there is nothing that I see, any challenge, that is too big for our island to be able to take on.”