Bahamian angel investors scarce thus far

Wed, Mar 29th 2017, 08:50 AM

The search for angel investors in The Bahamas has thus far been a challenge for Manager of Competitiveness and Innovation at the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) Christopher McNair, but he is hopeful he will find a willing group before departing the country.
McNair held a "Link-Caribbean sensitization workshop" on Grand Bahama and New Providence this week to inform entrepreneurs about Link-Caribbean, a new vehicle for CARICOM members to access funding for startup businesses. Link-Caribbean is a partnership between Caribbean Export and the World Bank. Through Link came the development of a Regional Angel Investor Network (RAIN).
McNair was also in The Bahamas on a mission to recruit individuals and companies for RAIN, that might act as angel investors for entrepreneurs looking to access financing in this country and throughout the region.
"Hopefully this project, if it gets the kind of support we have gotten so far from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, and hopefully The Bahamas, it can grow and develop an ecosystem that can support the region," he said.
"Do we have persons in The Bahamas who want to become angel investors and start an angel group?"
McNair said the potential for angel investors in Grand Bahama was slim during his visit, with only two individuals expressing some interest in the program. He was hopeful that a meeting yesterday afternoon with potential investors in New Providence would garner better results.
"If you can get one person and you can convince that one person, then maybe he can convince other persons around him," said McNair.
Meantime entrepreneurs and small business owners continue to struggle with access to financing. The challenge for Caribbean entrepreneurs is the lack of the appropriate financing that would allow them to enter the export market and grow their businesses substantially.
"The biggest constraint is access to finance, and the kind of investment that is needed sometimes to export," said McNair. "To enter a new market is quite significant, and banks may not be willing to lend you that unless you have the assets to collateralize that loan."
He said he encountered two companies in Grand Bahama that impressed him with business ideas he thought "were really good ideas". He insisted that they think beyond the borders of The Bahamas as they grow their ideas and businesses.
He implored the audience of the workshop to visit Link-Caribbean online, in order to seek out possible angel investors who might be interested in financing their business ideas.

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