The Tribune

The Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) has has held a two-day workshop to equip staff with the skills for helping entrepreneurs write business plans that can be financed.

The seminar, staged by BAIC’s entrepreneurial planning and development department, was attended by new and veteran business plan writers, senior supervisors and clerical staff. It was held at BAIC’s New Providence head office, and at satellite offices in Exuma, Eleuthera, Abaco and Grand Bahama.

Staff were lectured by presenters from the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB), the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund and the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) on what each entity requires from a business plan to be able to finance it.

Lester Stuart, senior manager of BAIC’s entrepreneurial planning development department, said the workshop was “a capacity-building initiative to alert business plan writers to the intricacies of business plan writing, and to find out about changes or improvements in requirements by lending agencies”.

Winston Rolle, senior advisor at the Small Business Development Centre, said the business plan tells the story of how the entrepreneur intends to achieve their overall objective. “The business plan is the road map for the business, and those who are tasked with helping the client with their plan must ensure that the plan is attractive,” he added.

Some 4,000 Bahamians have made online inquiries seeking help from the SBDC in starting a business since September 2018. The SBDC provides advice, coaching, mentoring and training in small business principles. Accepted applicants attend classes for 12 hours over a two-week period.

Vernita Campbell, the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund’s administrator, said many entrepreneurs do not invest enough in research and marketing strategy before presenting their business plans. “They do not determine how far they wish to take their business,” she said, emphasising that “marketing is critical”.

The Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund also insists that a balance sheet must be presented as a part of the business plan. For successful applicants, the Venture Fund provides up to 40 percent of their funding requirements with an interest rate of 6.25 percent over a five-year period.

Ian Rutherford, the BDB’s credit manager, stressed the importance of security, equity and cash flow - along with supporting data - as key components in a business plan. He urged workshop participants to ensure their clients provide as much information about themselves and the business venture as possible, as everything about it must be revealed to a lending agency.

At the end of the two-day workshop, business plan writers were required to develop an executive summary of a business plan.