The newly-launched Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) will today begin the search for its first Senior Business Advisor (SBA). Davinia Blair, the centre's executive director, is laying the platform for the SBDC's momentum ahead of its official launch. The centre, which is designed to strengthen the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector, is a partnership between the Ministry of Finance, University of the Bahamas (UB) and the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers' Confederation (BCCEC). The government announced Ms Blair's appointment in June 2018. The SBDC's business advisors (BAs) will provide clients with confidential, one-on-one advice on areas such as business plans, intellectual property development, strategic/tactical planning, cost efficiency, sales, marketing and start-up financing. For start-ups and those already in business, the advisers will also assist in expanding their operations with a focus on market penetration, exporting, operational efficiency, right-sizing, tax and incentives management, and growth financing. Apart from "getting the right people on the bus", Ms. Blair is readying the SBDC to offer several key services to the MSME sector. Apart from the one-on-one advisory services, the SBDC and its partners will host training seminars and events to equip and inspire Bahamian entrepreneurs. The SBDC will provide incubation services for some of its clientele, and will advocate on behalf of the MSME sector - either as a whole or on behalf of clusters of companies. "Whatever the motivation in the mind of the business creator, it is the job of the SBDC to see and interpret that vision, to pull together the pieces to accomplish it, and to put in place a system to monitor and guide the expansion or delivery of that vision. That's our job," Ms. Blair said. While the SBDC is not a direct provider of capital, it will facilitate access to financing for clients. SBDC clients will be advised on the right capital structure for their companies, and directed to one of the pre-negotiated programmes for further assistance. Via: tribune242.com

Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) representatives met last week with members of the Women Investment Group (WIG) for a post-International Women’s Day panel discussion. The event, held in collaboration with the US Embassy and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), centred on a panel discussion featuring Davinia Blair, the SBDC’s executive director; Melissa Darville, co-owner of Shiver; Tyrina Neely, advisor on the SBDC’s board of directors; and Tamarind Isaacs, entrepreneur and advisor for the SBDC. Moderated by Anastarcia Palacious, the SBDC’s associate director of advancement, the group shared experiences about being women entrepreneurs in micro, small and medium-sized businesses, and how the SBDC is helping to transform entrepreneurship in The Bahamas. Turning to the SBDC’s progress, Ms Blair said it was essential to measure this through milestones, whether they be from the client, the centre or the advisors. “The advisors, myself and some of the admin team, are in a chat group, and on a daily basis we will have an advisor say: ‘My client just received a better deal on his lease, my client just got exclusive rights for a sale’ or some other milestone, and everyone is ecstatic,” she added. Ms Blair also pointed to the SBDC’s increased reach beyond New Providence with training sessions now happening on Eleuthera, Long Island, Abaco, Exuma and Grand Bahama. “For us the fact that we have a constant stream of persons on the Family Islands getting just as much attention as those on the capital, we are excited about that,” she added. Ms Darville, whose frozen dessert company was one of the first to reach the grant funding stage of the SBDC process, said: “We also feel a lot of pressure because we understand that being one of the first companies going through (the process), it is imperative that we are successful because that will pave the way for all of the other entrepreneurs coming behind us. “Everyone else can see that this process is working because it has worked for us. Once we got into the doors (of the SBDC) and started working with Mr Rolle (Winston Rolle, advisor) and Davinia, they were able to show us where our weaknesses were. We thought we had a great business plan, but our financials were not up to par, and we didn’t know that until we came into the centre and got the help we didn’t even know we needed.” With the SBDC’s assistance, Ms Darville and her business partner, Mr Percentie, were able to improve their business plan and enhance their business overall. “Sometimes you think you are doing your best because that’s all you know how to do,” she added. “We didn’t come from financial backgrounds. (My partner) is an engineer, and I was a teacher, so we didn’t know what we didn’t know. They were able to show us: ‘This is missing from here’, ‘you need to work on this’, ‘do you keep every receipt?’. That showed us where our weaknesses were, and we were open to it because we knew from this we would grow.” Before the panel presentation, IDB representatives detailed funding opportunities available to entrepreneurs, and provided information on where relevant research data about The Bahamas might be found for those seeking to expand their businesses. Via: tribune242.com

The Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) is working with local banks to make it easier and possibly cheaper for small businesses to open and operate merchant accounts, especially in regards to processing credit and debit card payments, SBDC Executive Director Davinia Blair said yesterday. Blair, who was the speaker at an InspiredBy talk at The Current at Baha Mar, said she has heard numerous complaints about the process of opening a merchant account and the expense associated with it. She said the process has proven to be onerous and requires a lot of time. However, she contended the SBDC is addressing this problem with the banks, especially those the SBDC works with. She added that technology has been a challenge, especially on the Family Islands, though she said the penetration and use of technology in business is much better than it was several years ago. She added that the idea of a cashless Bahamas has not been aggressively pushed because of the concern for older people, especially those on the Family Islands. However, she said even the older generation is becoming more technologically advanced and is using the products. The Central Bank of The Bahamas is putting together a pilot project to use technology to advance the unbanked on the Family Islands. It recently announced that it has found a technology company to help move the project forward with a digital Bahamian currency. Blair said it will be the government’s challenge, through policy to bridge the technological and financial divide. She added that the “bottleneck” in small business persons’ processes should not be due to their payment systems. Via: thenassauguardian.com