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Grants now available for small businesses affected by COVID-19

April 1, 2020

The Government of The Bahamas is now issuing Business Continuity Grants to small and medium-sized enterprises through its COVID-19 relief initiative, the Business Continuity Loan Program. That initiative will be managed by the Access Accelerator Small Business Development Centre.

The Hon. K. Peter Turnquest, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, explained in the House of Assembly that in addition to loans offered through the Business Continuity Loan Program, small businesses can now access grants for payroll assistance.

“As a reminder, for businesses that make less than $3 million annually, the Access Accelerator is currently providing support through a Business Continuity Loan Program. I am pleased to announce, however, that as an additional measure, specifically targeted towards payroll assistance, the Government is offering a grant of between $2,000 to $20,000 for MSMEs who qualify for a Business Continuity Loan to assist with payroll. We are allocating an additional $5 million to finance this initiative," Turnquest said.

These grants offered by the Government through the Business Continuity Loan Program are non-reimbursable, so business owners will not have to pay the Government back. Davinia Grant, Executive Director of the Access Accelerator, stressed that the maximum available in grant funding is $20,000. She added that all grants are attached to a loan which allows for businesses to access necessary financing but have less to repay. 

Grant said, “We commend the Government for giving small business owners even more opportunities to sustain themselves as we brace for the economic impact of COVID-19. The grants will be attached to a loan, which means that we will not issue grants by themselves. The overall funding will be 50 percent grant and 50 percent loan or $20,000 in grant funding and the remaining amount facilitated through a loan.

“The addition of the $5 million for grants will allow entrepreneurs to access much-needed funding but not having to pay the grant portion back will allow them to stretch their resources. It's an addition to the program that we are grateful for, and I'm sure many entrepreneurs will be too."

The Access Accelerator is the product of a tripartite arrangement between the Government, through the Ministry of Finance, University of The Bahamas (UB) and the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC). The Centre works to guide the development, funding, growth, and evolution of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (“MSMEs”) in The Bahamas.

Government provides Business Continuity Loan Program for Small Businesses

March 24, 2020
Through the Access Accelerator Small Business Development Centre, the Government of The Bahamas has allocated $20 million to assist small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Business Continuity Loan Program officially launches Wednesday, March 25, 2020. It will provide loans to small businesses, facilitated through partnerships with financial institutions, ranging from $5,000 to $300,000, to cover operating costs. The funds will go toward paying salaries, rent, insurance, utilities and inventory/supplies. Through the initiative, approved loans will require no payments for four months.
The Access Accelerator is also advocating for the deferral of existing loan payments for entrepreneurs who may already have loans with lending institutions. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has already publicly pledged to defer loan payments for their clients for three months, and CIBC FirstCaribbean is guaranteeing six months of deferred payments for their clients.
Existing small businesses – companies operating with a valid business license for one year or more – can apply to the program via the Access Accelerator website (www.accessaccelerator.org). All companies must agree to retain 51 per cent of staff and agree to have credit information shared with the Credit Bureau and other banking and financial institutions in the future to be part of the initiative.
Financial institutions that have agreed to participate in the program: Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund, Cash N Go Ltd., Leno Corporate Services Ltd., Omni Financial Group Ltd., Simplified Lending Ltd, Bahamas Development Bank and participating commercial banks.
Executive Director of the Access Accelerator, Davinia Grant explained that while that non-profit organization will facilitate the relief program, lending partners will be responsible for client vetting, approvals, distribution of funds and collection.
“The Access Accelerator is facilitating the Business Continuity Loan Program, reaching out to financial institutions that we have already built relationships with and bringing on other lending institutions to ensure strong support of Bahamian small businesses,” said Grant. “The financial partners will facilitate the actual loan processing, handling the vetting of the required information, approvals, the issuing of funds, and collecting payments after the four months. Operating like this will allow the Access Accelerator to manage this program while we continue to operate our current programs.”
To ensure transparency and safety, the Access Accelerator has built an online application process that will enable weekly reporting from financial institutions that will be made available to the public, she added.
K. Peter Turnquest, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, who first announced the $20 million small business allocation during his address in the House of Assembly, believes that keeping small businesses afloat during this time is crucial.
Turnquest said, “Small business is the backbone of our economy, as I have said many times over. In the Bahamas, MSMEs – which make up the vast majority of our business community – are especially important because they provide opportunities for entrepreneurs and create meaningful jobs with greater job satisfaction than positions with larger companies. These businesses help communities and neighbourhoods flourish by keeping money close to home and often providing employment opportunities for community residents. For these reasons and more, we should do anything we can to keep these businesses afloat, especially during a time of national crisis such as what we are now enduring.”
Interested persons should visit www.accessaccelerator.org starting Wednesday, March 25, 2020, to complete an application and follow the Access Accelerator on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for more information and updates.
The Access Accelerator is the product of a tripartite arrangement between the Government, through the Ministry of Finance, University of The Bahamas (UB) and the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC). The Centre works to guide the development, funding, growth, and evolution of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (“MSMEs”) in The Bahamas.

SBDC to use more digital solutions after successful cashless showcase

December 23, 2019
The Access Accelerator, Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) hosted its first cashless showcase for clients to promote and sell their products and services.  Over 40 vendors participated in the event at the SBDC’s office located at the Gladstone Freight Terminal. In attendance was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Peter Turnquest, USA Charge d’Affaires Stephanie Bowers, Chairman of the board of the SBDC, Geoffery Andrews, Executive Director of the SBDC, Davinia Grant, Chairwoman of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation, Khrystle Rutherford-Ferguson along with members of the SBDC board.  The cashless system of the event was powered by Kanoo, the newest digital wallet of The Bahamas. Using the digital system, consumers were able to put cash into their Kanoo digital wallets and pay SBDC merchants with a scan of their phone.  The decision to make the event cashless came about as the SBDC moves into investing more into digital platforms to help the organization and its entrepreneurs.  Davinia Grant, Executive Director of the SBDC, said, “The decision to go cashless for this event was to test out how a small group of merchants were able to handle another form of currency. It also introduced many of them to an alternative digital system that can be beneficial to their businesses. We are in a digital world and we must ensure that we keep entrepreneurs aware of the possibilities for advancing their companies.  “With the use of cash comes many challenges and associated fees. Whereas, with digital movement of money we take away a lot of the risk and headaches of dealing with cash. While, this event tested about 23 out of the 48 vendors we had participating, it showed that Bahamian consumers are too willing and able to use digital payment applications.”  Keith Davies, Chief Executive Officer of Kanoo, expressed gratitude to the SBDC for allowing the digital wallet to be used as the payment facilitator at the event.  “It’s a great achievement for us to be working with the SBDC. It was a massive effort, but we got it done because that’s what we do,” Davies said. “To be a part of this event is to provide merchants with tools that allow their businesses to thrive.  Cash is something that comes with costs attached therefore, if you have a digital solution, we call it safe, easy, cashless, it allows them to do things a lot easier, faster, cheaper, quicker.”  He continued, “At the end of the day we want merchants to understand that we are here, we are operational and that we have a solution for them from a cashless perspective. Kanoo is designed for what I call the long tier, those small to medium-sized businesses. Of course, we have solutions for larger businesses, but small businesses are our niche.”   In 2020 Grant hopes to continue pushing the use of technology solutions while educating entrepreneurs on ways their businesses can benefit from them.  Grant said, “This cashless showcase is just the beginning of the SBDC increasing the use of technology within our services and educating entrepreneurs on how to adapt to the digital era. We want to really embrace all that technology is allowing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to do. With The Bahamas being an archipelago and our goal to reach and help as many Bahamian entrepreneurs as we possibly can, we are looking forward to exploring and implementing more digital solutions in 2020.”  The SBDC is the product of a tripartite arrangement between the Government, through the Ministry of Finance, University of The Bahamas (UB) and the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC). The Centre will work to guide the development, funding, growth, and evolution of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (“MSMEs”) in The Bahamas.
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