Meet the entrepreneurs running their Irish businesses from Barbados

When Caribbean islands started offering work visas for digital nomads, entrepreneurs Paula Heaney and Laura Bonner were among the Irish who took up the opportunity

Friends Paula Heaney and Laura Bonner, who quarantined side by side last November before travelling

Last November, Paula Heaney stood in the queue for her flight from London to Barbados, anxiously refreshing her email inbox on her phone. The owner of Skinny Malinkys, an Irish juice company, was waiting for a crucial email from her doctor. She needed a negative Covid-19 test to board her flight.

“I called in a load of favours to get that Covid-19 test and eventually got one in South Kensington,” Heaney said.

“I was in ...