The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) will throw "concerted effort" behind the launch of its Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Help Desk next month to ensure that the service does not "fizzle", according to a top chamber official.
BCCEC Chairman Gowon Bowe told Guardian Business that the help desk, which will offer non-financial and broad private sector support to small business owners through soft skills training, business plan advice and other services, is gearing up for a July launch after several minor delays.
While the chamber originally hoped to launch the help desk in April, Bowe said that he is confident the chamber initiative would spur a new wave of entrepreneurial activity in The Bahamas.
"As it relates to the funding that we've received, as it relates to the support from the government - those things are all now sitting in place. It's now just a matter of coordination and the reason why it has taken some time is just that once it's open we don't want it fizzle. It has to be opened with a bang but also with sustainability because there's a lot of demand for it," said Bowe.
Bowe was confident that the help desk would prove a success through the efforts of various local "beacons of entrepreneurship and innovation" including representatives from several local banks, its SME subcommittee headed by Tara Morley-Nolan, and input from chamber members running larger companies, including SkyBahamas CEO and President Randy Butler and Arawak Port Development CEO Mike Maura.
The initiative, funded with the support of a $100,000 grant from the Ministry of Financial Services and further support from the Caribbean Development Bank, will be fully staffed and provide SME owners with assistance. Although the BCCEC ultimately hopes to sustain the help desk through select fees, Bowe said that all chamber efforts were going into making the launch a success.
"I think we're nearly there and it's a matter of once it's open there will be vibrancy and one [program] that we'd like to continue," Bowe said.
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