A new green category is to be added to a competition for would-be businesspeople.

Rocket Pitch, organised by the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, has added PitchGREEN, focusing on environmentally-friendly ideas, to its three existing areas for this year’s competition.

Erica Smith, BEDC executive director, said the new category “will appeal to those burgeoning entrepreneurs that are passionate about the environment.”

She added: “With more than 16 businesses having been formed as a result of the Rocket Pitch, we are confident that the addition of this new category will help to propel local innovation in the green industry.

“As an added bonus, participants who enter into this category will automatically be entered into the Global Future Agro Challenge.”

The international Future Agro Challenge recognises top entrepreneurs with business ideas that provides innovation in farming business practices, upgrades education and training, transforms agricultural production into biological solutions, presents alternative uses of natural products or provides new ways of addressing the importance of living healthy lifestyles.

The new PitchGREEN category joins PitchPINK, for tourism and hospitality-related services, PitchTECH, which concentrates on innovative technology or e-business ideas and PitchTOWN, for those with a new business idea focused on on-island customers.

The competition, sponsored by Government’s Department of E-Commerce, the Bermuda Tourism Authority and Digicel Business, asks entrants to present a five to seven minute pitch about a business idea that is either new or launched within the past year.

The winners, who will be announced next month, will get up to $5,000 in funding and support services for their ventures.

The competition, which runs until Friday, November 4 and after preliminary presentations the judging committee will pick the top candidates to pitch publicly during Global Entrepreneurship Week on Monday, November 14 and Tuesday, November 15.

Grant Gibbons, Minister for Economic Development, said: “The Rocket Pitch competition serves as a catalyst for existing and potential entrepreneurs to bring forward new and innovative business ideas.

“For the past nine years, the BEDC has utilised this competition to help develop 16 new local entrepreneurs.

“As the Minister for Economic Development, I understand the importance of developing local entrepreneurs and I am encouraged by statistics like these that show new business development which contributes to the community.”

Last year’s winner in the PitchPINK category, sponsored by the BTA, was Jamila Godwin with Dropping Anchor a Bermuda-centric “trip advisor type” website offering booking arrangements, customer feedback, and photo posting for a multitude of Bermuda visitor tour experiences.

The PitchTOWN category, sponsored by BEDC, was won by Maquel Waldron with Xtreme Sports Bermuda, an extreme sports management company with programme options for children’s parties, group adult activities and corporate team-building.

And Coral Wells with Connectech, a resource centre providing shared-office space for technology professionals and technology training programs for youth and adults, took the honours in the PitchTECH category, which is sponsored by Department of E-Commerce.

Entries for this year’s competition should be in by 5pm on Friday, November 4 and can be e-mailed to jlodge@bedc.bm.

A tutorial on how to make a presentation is available at www.bedc.bm.

For more information on the competition, contact Jamilah Lodge at jlodge@bedc.bm, by phone on 292-5570 or visit www.bedc.bm.