The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The company that gave life to the government’s Grand Bahama “technology hub” ambitions yesterday denied making any one-shot lay-offs while admitting business was “slower than expected”.

GIBC Digital reiterated its commitment to Grand Bahama and its employees, saying it was on course to meet its 2019 targets despite finding the going tougher than expected and releasing almost half its staff after they failed to perform.

Expressing surprise at claims it had suddenly made multiple employees redundant, Greg Wood, GIBC’s chief executive, said: “Business has been slower than expected, and we have had to make adjustments, but this is no cause for concern.

“We’ve also had to part ways with some senior employees who did not share our values, but we have replaced them with an all-Bahamian leadership team and are now on track to meet our targets for 2019.”

GIBC Digital’s managing director, Brian Dareus, said 12 persons had been let go over an eight-month period beginning last July as “some had not passed the probationary period, and some were low performers.” Thirteen employees remain, he added.

GIBC Digital was “among the first companies” to apply for, and be approved, under the Government’s new Commercial Enterprises Act, which aims to smooth the path for investment in targeted industries by easing Immigration bureaucracy and ‘red tape’.

The Act allows approved companies to send key personnel to the Bahamas, and establish operations, without first being in possession of valid work permits. Such permits must be applied for within 30 days of these executives’ arrival in the Bahamas and, should no reply be received from the director of Immigration within 14 days, the permits are automatically deemed to have been granted.

The Act, together with the Grand Bahama ‘technology hub’ initiative, are major components in the Government’s plan to restructure and reposition the Bahamian economy by diversifying away from its reliance on tourism and financial services.

GIBC Digital was founded by Mr Wood in 2011 as an enterprise focused on the provision of operational and information technology (IT) strategy, concentrated on regulatory-driven change. GIBC helps its clients re-engineer their data resources in order to help them stay competitive and optimise their data security.

The firm opened an office in Nassau last October, having launched in Grand Bahama last June. Following its launch on Grand Bahama the company began to hire and train 25 Bahamians, with the commitment to take on another 25 in specialised services, including automation, data intelligence, customer experience, regulation and compliance.