The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Small Business Development Centre's (SBDC) executive director yesterday said she expects to have the first set of entrepreneurial business plans submitted for funding by month's end.

Davinia Blair, pictured, told Tribune Business she was "amazed" by the diversification and innovation shown by budding Bahamian entrepreneurs, and added: "I feel pretty confident that before the end of October we will be presenting the first set of plans for funding, and be able to make some announcements.

"I think one of the biggest things right now is that the Family Island folks are hungry. We're on Grand Bahama, where we tested the first cohort on Tuesday. We are going to Exuma next week, as well as Abaco, Eleuthera, Long Island and Andros between now and mid-November. It's a pretty aggressive schedule but we are going to ensure that we make it happen."

As to the ideas being presented by entrepreneurs using the SBDC's services, Ms Blair said: "I am amazed. We are going to be very proud of the level of diversification in the tourism industry. We're at it in all sorts of different ways. We're looking at value-added and ancillary services in that sector, and then there are some who are just out of the box completely.

"One of our major goals is wealth distribution, economic diversification and innovation. Based on some of the ideas we have seen so far we are well on our way. I'm very happy with the level of innovation that I'm seeing."

The SBDC, a non-profit entity which launched last month, is a partnership initiative with the University of The Bahamas (UB), the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers' Confederation (BCCEC) and the Bahamian government. It is designed to build the institutional framework and support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in their initial development stages.