The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister says the Government is seeking to highlight “the ingenuity, talent and vision” of Bahamian entrepreneurs as part of small business month.

Senator Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, speaking at the first ‘Emerge Grand Bahama’ small business symposium held at the Pelican Bay Resort, reiterated that November has been declared National Micro, Small and Medium- Sized Enterprise Month.

“This month” he said, “we brought particular focus to the ingenuity, talent and the vision of local entrepreneurs. It is through partnerships, particularly partnerships that reach across the public and private sectors, that we can bring our collective resources – intellectual as well as financial resources - to bear as we seek ways to promote and support the development of the small business sector that contributes so much to the economy collectively.

“The Government is a very willing partner in these sorts of collaborations because we recognise the important role that small businesses play in the overall economic health of the country, and the critical importance of hearing the voices of those in the trenches and on the front lines of either starting a business, operating a business and seeking to grow a business, and all the challenges that that entails.”

The Grand Bahama event was held in partnership with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), the Small Business Development Centre, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce and Bahamas Development Bank.

Mr Halkitis added that through agencies such as the Small Business Development Centre, the Bahamas Development Bank, the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund, the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) and Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI), the Government is seeking ways to support the creation and growth of businesses by providing not only capital but technical assistance and advice.

Stressing the importance of government’s support for small businesses, the minister added that in the upcoming debate on the Government’s Public Procurement Act reforms “there will be a level of preference of public procurement that will allow micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, women-owned businesses, and Family Island-owned businesses to receive preferential treatment in government procurement. And that is to give businesses a better opportunity to succeed in bidding for those contracts”.

Also giving brief remarks were Ian Rolle, the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA); James Carey, Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce president; Brent Deveaux, branch manager of the Bahamas Development Bank; and the Small Business Development Centre’s interim executive director, Samantha Rolle.