By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The deputy prime minister has hailed the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) for approving $3.5m in financing for small businesses and start-up entrepreneurs during its first year.

Speaking at the Centre’s year-end Christmas Client Showcase, K Peter Turnquest said: “In just its first year, SBDC’s internal adjudication and grant committee approved $3.5m in capital financing to 141 small businesses.

“So far the SBDC and its funding partners have disbursed $2.8m directly in support of Bahamian small businesses, and 82 percent of all approved companies have already received their disbursements.”

Mr Turnquest pointed to the fact that the SBDC’s clients come from 15 islands, ranging from Acklins, Crooked Island and Inagua in the south, to Grand Bahama as evidence “this was not a Nassau-centric programme”.

“The showcase you see here today is proof of the talent and creativity possessed by Bahamian entrepreneurs that the SBDC has helped to unleash,” Mr Turnquest said.

“SBDC itself is not the direct provider of capital, so we owe a big thanks to our financial partners, including the Bahamas Development Bank, the Royal Bank of Canada, the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund and Scotiabank.”

The deputy prime minister added that the SBDC’s main goal was to expand Bahamian entrepreneurship and economic ownership, and give micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) the ability to sustain and grow their operations through improved access to capital.

Geoffrey Andrews, the SBDC’s chairman, wrote in the centre’s annual report that it had helped 17 entrepreneurs “take their dreams and businesses to the next level” through more than $1m in funding, which he estimated has delivered an economic impact of $2.2m.

“We’ve served over 500 Bahamians in our entrepreneurship training classes across the nation, and we look forward to serving the other 4,000-plus individuals who have signed up for our assistance,” he said.

Participating vendors showcased products ranging from local teas, hot patties and ice cream made from Bahamian fruits, and hair care products during the event, which was held at the Gladstone Road Freight Terminal.

Khrystle Rutherford-Ferguson, chairman of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC), said: “The chamber was one of the founding members of the SBDC. It is such a warm feeling to see what our Bahamian people can do through innovation and production. It is an awesome experience.”

The SBDC’s annual report says it has assisted a total of 4,013 clients. Some 2,860 or 71 percent were “start-up” businesses, while 1,153 or 29 percent were classified as “existing businesses”. New Providence had the most clients by island with 1,918, while Grand Bahama was second at 700 and Abaco providing 183.

Davinia Grant, the SBDC’s executive director, told Tribune Business of Hurricane Dorian-related assistance applications: “About four weeks ago we had about 200-plus applications from Grand Bahama and 50-plus applications from Abaco, and the requests total up about $10m to $11m from the existing clients and their need to rebuild.”

Mr Turnquest, reaffirming his commitment to the SBDC programme, added: “In just its first year 758 Bahamians participated in SBDC training. Again, we didn’t make everyone come to Nassau. This training was held in six different islands.

“Between its face-to-face sessions, client visits, webinars and video calls, SBDC provided over 6,600 advisory hours for business support. Our government remains committed to the vision we charted when we agreed to financially support the Access Accelerator SBDC a year ago. We look forward to seeing more success stories emerge out of the amazing cohort of entrepreneurs coming out of the SDBC.”