By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Development Bank (BDB) yesterday revealed it has $22m available to finance development projects across The Bahamas, including Andros, as it urged investors to view the country’s largest island as a strategic national asset rather than untapped potential.

Sumayyah Cargill, the BDB’s deputy managing director, told the Andros Business Outlook conference that the island already possesses the resources needed to drive national growth, but warned that fragmented planning has prevented it from realising its full economic value.

“So, first and foremost, I want to say that we have a habit in The Bahamas of describing our Family Islands as places of potential,” she said. “But I want to reframe that conversation. Andros is not just a place of potential. Andros is a place of assets, and there’s a critical difference… Potential is abstract. Assets are real. Assets form the basis for finance and investment. And what I’m saying is that Andros already has the assets that The Bahamas needs to fuel its growth.”

Ms Cargill argued that Andros’ location, just a short distance from New Providence, could become one of its greatest competitive advantages as new transportation technologies reshape travel between islands. She pointed to emerging technologies such as electric sea gliders and seaplanes as innovations that could dramatically reduce travel times and costs.

Such connectivity, she argued, will unlock new opportunities for housing, employment, investment and commerce, while relieving some of the pressures facing New Providence, including traffic congestion, rising housing demand and increasing population density.

Ms Cargill also identified eco-tourism as one of Andros’ strongest economic opportunities, saying the island’s extensive protected areas should be leveraged not only for conservation but also as revenue-generating attractions. She said international examples have shown that environmental protection and economic development can reinforce one another through carefully managed visitor experiences.

“For Andros, the opportunity is to establish a globally recognised identity as a premier marine and ecotourism destination within The Bahamas,” she said. Ms Cargill envisioned a connected tourism product built around the island’s blue holes, barrier reefs, wetlands, marine ecosystems, national parks and cultural heritage, generating demand for accommodations, transportation providers, tour guides, restaurants and other local businesses.

“The takeaway is not that we’re simply protecting nature,” she added. “It’s about making nature one of the island’s most valuable economic assets while ensuring it remains protected for future generations.”

Beyond tourism, Ms Cargill said Andros has the land resources needed to help address growing national concerns surrounding food security and energy resilience. With global supply chains remaining vulnerable, and food prices expected to continue rising, she argued that expanding agricultural production, agri-processing and renewable energy generation on Andros will strengthen The Bahamas’ long-term economic resilience.

“In that environment, the ability to produce more of what we consume, both food and energy, is no longer [just] an economic opportunity, it’s a strategic advantage,” she said.

“And few places in The Bahamas are as well-positioned as Andros to contribute to expanded agricultural production, agri-processing and agricultural innovation, while at the same time creating opportunities for renewable energy generation and storage at a scale that is difficult to achieve anywhere else in the country.”

Ms Cargill described the island as a “strategic national asset” capable of advancing national goals for food security, energy sovereignty, climate resilience and sustainable development. She maintained that financing is not the primary obstacle to development, arguing instead that projects have too often been pursued in isolation rather than as part of integrated economic ecosystems.

“We try to build economies one project at a time, but a project is not an ecosystem,” Ms Cargill said. Using agriculture as an example, she explained that expanding farm production requires far more than access to land. Farmers also need cold storage, transportation, processing facilities, financing tailored to agriculture and, critically, confidence that there will be reliable buyers for their products.

“If just one of those pieces is missing, growth stalls,” Ms Cargill said. “The farmer can’t scale, the lender cannot justify the risk… and the opportunity remains unrealised.” She said the same principle applies across every industry.

“A lodge does not create an ecotourism industry,” she added. “A solar field is not the same as an energy economy, and a dock is not the same as a blue economy. What creates growth is the system that connects them.”

Ms Cargill revealed that significant investment interest already exists for Andros. “I’m aware of almost $300m in projects, investments and development concepts that include an Androsian component,” she said.

She added that the BDB currently has roughly $22m in financing available after recent financing activity, and is actively seeking projects aligned with national development priorities, including opportunities in Andros.

“The key will be for us to connect these projects into ecosystems, to align private and public investment, and to ensure that Androsians are positioned not simply to observe development but to participate and benefit from it,” she said.

Ms Cargill said the BDB is also promoting co-operative financing models and community-based tourism initiatives to ensure economic benefits remain within local communities.

She invited entrepreneurs and investors to bring forward new ideas, saying sustainable development will depend on partnerships rather than isolated projects.“The future of Andros isn’t going to be built by any individual institution or project,” Ms Cargill said. “It’s going to be built through partnership, co-ordination and a shared commitment.”