The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A top Ministry of Finance official yesterday said “direct funding” is being provided for Bahamians wishing to pool resources and enter the vacation rental market.

Marlon Johnson, acting financial secretary, told an Economic Recovery Committee webinar: “The Cabinet has been mulling over, through the Small Business Development Centre, setting aside monies for persons who want to become involved in the shared economy.

“That is with regard to providing capital support, but if you have the idea and you have the wherewithal, you would be able to get it into the build of a potential vacation home for rental and that is especially valuable in the Family Islands.”

Mr Johnson added: “The second thing I want to encourage is that as that rolls out, is to think about who you could work with, meaning who you could partner with within your family and within your associates because a part of the challenge for all of us is coming up with sufficient deposits or the wherewithal to do it on our own.

“We really have to think about the shared economy, and not only in the sense of me building something for a vacation home, but how could we get four or five like-minded persons together to invest in a single property and, as that develops, we can build on that.

“You will see some direct funding support to allow more Bahamians to participate in the shared economy, and I think even as that rolls out I encourage all of the persons, especially persons in the Family Islands, to start to think about how we could partner together and we could leverage our contacts. In other words, how do we incorporate ourselves, pool our resources and build in a way where we can start with one and end up with ten.”