Vincentian entrepreneur launches platform to help SVG businesses get paid online 

CaribeCatalog lets local businesses sell products, take bookings and accept card payments from one online storefront

By Admin. Updated 6:55 p.m., Sunday, November 1, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4). 

A 24-year-old entrepreneur from Evesham has launched an online platform aimed at one of the biggest frustrations facing small businesses in St Vincent and the Grenadines: getting paid online.

Nicholi John is the creator of CaribeCatalog, a platform that gives Caribbean businesses a single online storefront for selling products, taking bookings and handling orders. Customers can pay with their local debit or credit cards.

For years, many local businesses have had no simple way to accept payments online. Customers have often had to arrange bank transfers or pay in person, even when the business itself operates mainly on social media.

John said the idea came from his own experience of trying to buy items from a business through Instagram direct messages.

“So many of our entrepreneurs are talented and hardworking, but they are running their entire businesses out of their social media inbox,” he said. “I wanted to give them the same tools a large online store has, without the cost or the technical headache. CaribeCatalog brings all of that together in one place, and listing a business is free.”

One storefront, many types of business

CaribeCatalog is operated by John’s company, iCohnnic Solutions. The company also runs Tabanca (tabanca.store), an event marketplace launched earlier this year. Tabanca allows promoters to sell tickets, bands to sell their packages, and users to resell event and carnival-related items.

John is a former national scholar. He graduated with First Class Honours in Accounting and Computer Science from the University of the West Indies and holds a master’s degree in Risk Management and Financial Engineering from Imperial College London.

He said he designed CaribeCatalog so that one storefront can handle the different ways a business sells, whether that is products, appointments, custom requests or food orders.

“A salon, a cook shop and a clothing boutique all run differently,” he explained. “CaribeCatalog lets each of them work their own way, while their customers get one simple experience.”

At the heart of the platform is its payment system. Customers can pay by debit or credit card, and the company says payouts go directly to the business’s bank account, wherever that business is based.

For retailers, the online shop allows products to be listed in different sizes, colours and styles. Owners can also keep track of their stock and run promotions using discount codes.

Service providers have not been left out. Salons, barbers, spas and tour operators, among others, can display their available times, confirm appointments instantly, manage staff schedules and set their own cancellation policies.

Some jobs need a price before work can begin, and the platform caters for that too. Customers can submit a request with the details of what they need, and the business can respond with a quote and collect a deposit.

Chefs, restaurants and caterers can post their menus and take orders for pickup or for delivery within the areas they serve. Behind all of this sits a single business dashboard, where owners can manage their orders, bookings, customers and finances.

Local brands already on board

Among the businesses already using the platform is Merom Watch Co., a newly launched independent brand that describes itself as the first Vincentian watch company. The brand says it draws inspiration from the culture of St Vincent and the Grenadines, combining timeless design with quality craftsmanship.

Merom is using its CaribeCatalog storefront to showcase and sell its watches, allowing customers at home and in the diaspora to browse the collection and pay online.

“Merom is exactly the kind of business CaribeCatalog was built for,” John said. “It is a Vincentian brand with a world-class product, and buying from them should be just as easy as buying from any big international store.”

Other Vincentian businesses on the platform include Peak Promotions, a promotional staffing and brand activation company; TE$ORERO | STUDIOS, a freelance creative studio run by Alejandro Tesorero that offers photography, videography and graphic design; Max Mobile Repairs, which repairs phones, laptops and tablets; and the Modern Language School of SVG.

John said shops, online sellers, hairstylists, nail technicians, chefs, freelancers and almost any other type of business can list their services free of charge at www.caribecatalog.com.

Nicholi John and the CaribeCatalog team can be reached on WhatsApp at +1 (784) 434-5770 or by email at [email protected].

END