The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government's small business assistance initiative stopped taking new applicants from June 15 as it concentrates on distributing the $38.264m in loan and grant funding already approved.

Shawn Gomez, a Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) spokesperson, told Tribune Business that 63 percent of approved businesses had already received the second installment of what was designed as a two-part financing scheme.

Speaking to the Business Continuity Loan initiative's progress to-date, she explained: "Funding disbursements were planned in two tranches. Most have received the first in the last fiscal year and the second in this fiscal year (2020-2021). On June 15th we discontinued accepting new clients and have been serving those already approved."

K Peter Turnquest, deputy prime minister, told this newspaper recently that new Business Continuity Loan funding was tied-up with the bridge financing anticipated from multilateral lenders such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). That was anticipated to close by end-last week, with a portion of the monies earmarked to provide $55m in pledged small business support.

Ms Gomez said some 541 micro, small and medium-sized firms had been approved for assistance under the Business Continuity Loan initiative, which had attracted 3,500 applications - some 2,000 of which were properly completed.

Around $38.264m in combined loan and grant funding has been approved to-date, of which $4.78m is of the grant variety directed solely at payroll support. The sum approved is more than double the original $18m allocated to the scheme by the Government.

Ms Gomez added that some $25.909m has been received by approved businesses to-date, with the initiative said to have kept some 4,225 Bahamians employed so far.

"The Business Continuity Loan programme has had a major impact on the small business sector," Ms Gomez said. "Entrepreneurs said that if it wasn’t for this programme their businesses would be closed, or they would have had to tremendously reduce staff.

"It’s been described as a saving grace for many small businesses, and we’re grateful that the Government quickly moved to aid the small business sector. We also thank the financial institutions who partnered with this initiative to facilitate the assistance which made the process smoother and faster."

The Business Continuity Loan initiative was designed to help micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) cope with the economic fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic.

To qualify, MSME had to be operating with a valid business license for one year or more; generate less than $3m in annual turnover; agree to retain 51 percent of their staff; and have their credit information shard with the newly formed credit bureau and other financial institutions.