The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The deputy prime minister has unveiled plans to create a “Bahamian product incubation centre” for downtown Nassau by year-end in a bid to address the “shockingly” low number of entrepreneurs selling local, authentic product.

Chester Cooper, also minister for tourism, investments and aviation, pledged that the Government will “bring some life” to East Bay Street and ensure more Bahamian entrepreneurs have a chance to develop. Hinting at the Davis administration’s strategy for reviving downtown Nassau, he hinted that it includes attracting persons to live in the city once again and help create a customer base for its businesses.

“One of the things that we are going to do is to ensure that, on Bay Street, there is an authentically-Bahamian incubation centre, tentatively a Bahamian-product Incubation Centre,” Mr Cooper said. This is to be developed by the Tourism Development Corporation, using one of the dilapidated buildings on East Bay Street for its home. The Government has already been in discussion with some potential landlords.

The deputy prime minister added that the Tourism Development Corporation wants to ensure entrepreneurs “have more opportunities”, and provide them with technical assistance and connections to New Providence’s visitor traffic. “The Downtown Partnership has been working on this for decades. What the Government is doing is bringing support to their initiatives,” Mr Cooper added of efforts to revive downtown Nassau and Bay Street.

“Support with me as minister of tourism, along with the minister of works and the Attorney General’s Office, to have to create an enabling framework for the revitalisation of downtown. There has to be some legislative changes, there has to be some will to be able to make some of the necessary adjustments.”

Support from Bay Street and downtown property owners will be critical. Mr Cooper added: “In the meantime, we’re going to do whatever we can to ensure that we contribute to entrepreneurship and, therefore, I’ve asked the Tourism Development Corporation to begin the process of an incubation centre for Bahamian products.

“We have already begun the process of identifying a space. There have already been discussions with potential landlords and we hope that we will find a favourable opportunity to begin this process in earnest this year.”

Hinting that the Government wants to make Nassau a living city, Mr Cooper added: “If we are able to get people living on Bay Street, we will be able to generate even more traffic for entrepreneurs and businesses on Bay Street. So we are very clear in terms of what we wish to do. We’ve begun discussing actively with the stakeholders and I hope that people will see tangible results.”