The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN entrepreneur yesterday said access to financing and the fear of failure were "killing the entrepreneurial spirit" in the Bahamas, as he recalled being turned down by 17 financiers.

Lincoln Deal II, the JetLink Adventures founder and chief executive, speaking as a panellist at the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) conference, said two of the 17 who rejected him were commercial banks as he sought to acquire the capital to launch his business.

He finally secured funding from the Government-funded Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund.

Mr Deal added that the Government had also denied him seven times when he attempted to secure a license for his business, which has been in operation for two nearly two years.

JetLink Adventures is the Bahamas' first water-propelled jetpack operator.

"There is a lack of activities in the Bahamas for our visitors," Mr Deal said. "Tourists are looking for new experiences and new things to do. "Young people, Bahamians, aren't short of ideas.

"However, access to funding coupled with the fear of failure has kind of crippled the entrepreneurial spirit. "What we need are more Bahamian disruptors, persons who see the Bahamas in a particular way, solve an existing problem, create more entrepreneurs and create less dependence on government."