The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Help Desk will help ensure that “failure does not become an option” for small businesses seeking professional services and advise, according to BCCEC CEO Edison Sumner.

Speaking yesterday at the launch of the help desk, which aims to provide a number of small business advisory services and elements of the BCCEC’s the business-to-business mentorship program launched in 2013, Sumner stated that the support and cultivation of successful SMEs was necessary not just in strengthening the economy and cutting unemployment rates, but also in curbing social issues including crime.

“Considering that over 50 percent of all business start ups fail within the first year of operations, we will endeavor to do what we can to assist these businesses so that their failure does not become an option,” said Sumner.

The project was funded in large part thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Ministry of Finance and an additional $10,000 grant from the International Labour Organization (ILO) to sponsor help desk workshops conducted this week.

Although the help desk will charge scaling fees for its services to offset costs, BCCEC SME Division Chair Tara Morley-Nolan yesterday said that the chamber would soon seek funding from various local and international partners including the Bahamas Development Bank, Bahamas Agricultural Industrial Corporation, Inter-American Development Bank, and other organizations.

Anna Knowles, ILO Senior Specialist of Employers’ Activities, commended the chamber for their work on the project, stating that such initiatives were a crucial part of efforts to shine a spotlight on the country’s informal economy, which currently ran the risk of undercutting the country’s regulated employers.

However, the program will not provide loans for existing or aspiring small business owners.

“Let me be clear. This is not a funding facility. The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation will not be awarding any loans, grants, or capital investments in any business or project,” Sumner said.

The help desk will include a dedicated SME administrator responsible for coordinating the BCCEC’s daily SME activities and a full-time research consultant charged with finding grant funding, technical cooperations, and other SME opportunities. The help desk administrator will process applications from people wishing to utilize the help desk’s services before assigning applicant portfolios to specific advisors.

Sumner revealed that the help desk had received roughly 10 responses from various small businesses and professionals to the chamber’s request for proposal seeking mentorship and additional support.

“This SME Help Desk is expected to assist micro, medium, and small businesses throughout The Bahamas with a variety of business advisory services ranging from a comprehensive assessment of businesses, financial planning and management, business plan writing, human resources development, preparation for credit funding, marketing services, and a host of other professional services,” stated Sumner.

Stressing that the program would not focus solely on New Providence, Sumner was pleased that executives from assorted Family Island chambers of commerce would be present for help desk-related workshops scheduled throughout this week and serve as “point of contact” in bringing the help desk’s services throughout the country over the next year.