Thirteen small businesses have collectively gained access to $786,000 in financing to-date via the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC), which says another $7m is in the pipeline.
The latter sum is earmarked for splitting between 55 start-ups and small businesses, with the SBDC hosting a recent celebration with the initial 13 financing recipients to highlight their success.
While 11 entrepreneurs have been funded by loans from the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB), the other two have obtained credit from Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). The Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund has also offered equity funding to several of the entrepreneurs. They include:
• Island Breeze and found Kelsey Bridgewater
• Better Days Pizzeria and founder Petula Clammons-Henfield
• WonderTech and founder Don Brown
• Exuma Christian Academy and founder Keniqua Burrows
• Pulpy and founders Shaquille & Anthonique Coleby
• Fineena Artis and founder Donaita Outten
• A Stitch In Time and founder Jennis Thompson
• Jujukanoo and founders Vanessa Miller/Kevin Knowles
• Greene Corporate Services and founder Albertha Rolle
• Remarkable Carz Rental Service and founder Brian Williams
• Vue AV and founder Juan Bethel
• Shiver and founders Elvis Percentie
and Melissa Darville
• Drive Greene and founder Benjamin Davis
Among those entrepreneurs are a young man who broke his mother’s television set and learned to fix it on the spot; a woman who helped a former prisoner get his first business started; and a man who dove for his first lobster at 12 as his father looked on.
Don Brown, of Wonder Tech, was sitting down to watch “the Rock” wrestle when his wrangling led to a broke television cord. His mother was unhappy with this interruption and he had to find a way to appease her. “I can fix it,” he exclaimed, and proceeded to do so.
Almost 20 years later, Mr Brown has turned his passion for fixing things into a business that keeps people connected, fixing cell phone and tablet screens affordably and with delivery. Wonder Tech has received $6,000 in business loans from the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB) with favourable terms through the Access Accelerator SBDC.
The SBDC also enabled the BDB to provide $15,000 to Green Corporate Services founder, Albertha Rolle. Through her company’s business management consultancy services, she was able to help a former prison inmate navigate the business license process to start his own business. She will use the money awarded to expand her administrative, business license and corporate document services.
Island Breeze owner, Kelsey Bridgewater, will use the $15,000 loan from the BDB to purchase boat engines and materials that will help to expand his excursion business. His father, Douglas Bridgewater, had taken Kelsey and his siblings boating ever since they were small children growing up in Exuma. He dove for his first lobster at 12 years-old and never forgot the feeling of immense pride and satisfaction he felt.
Davinia Blair, the SBDC’s executive director, said: “We are extraordinarily pleased to have 13 clients funded for $786,000 in the space of eight months. Some of our clients have been seeking funding for some time, but have not been successful until going through our process.
“These companies are now going to hire Bahamians, expand their work and increase their revenue. This was our objective when we started, and it feels good to be here. There are 55 business plans in the pipeline, and we trust that some $7m will be approved for funding by the end of the year.”
To-date, the SBDC has advised some 752 clients. Existing businesses continue to work on the financials necessary to secure funding, while start-up entrepreneurs are guided through the planning process.
Monies obtained by the firms that receive funding are paid directly to the various vendors and institutions that the client has identified in their business plan. No money goes to the individual, and this is what makes the SBDC different from any other government-funded program.
The Access Accelerator 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 Employer’s Confederation (BCCEC).
The centre works to guide the development, funding, growth and evolution of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in The Bahamas.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 10 months ago
LMAO
DDK 4 years, 10 months ago
It's not whatcha know!!!!!!
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