The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Chamber of Commerce is aiming to launch its Small Business Help Desk early next month, describing it as “crucial” to the development and survival of small and medium-sized enterprises throughout the country.

Edison Sumner, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chief executive, told Tribune Business yesterday that the Chamber was looking to launch the Help Desk in conjunction with a workshop set to be held with members of the international Labour Organisation (ILO).

“We have set a time for the launch which would be around September 8. We are doing that in conjunction with a workshop we plan to do with the ILO who are sending two or three experts to help us to get the initial work done as far a some of the training for entrepreneurs and enterprise skills development. That is going to happen between September 8 to10,” said Mr Sumner.

“Considering all that we are dealing with and the many challenges facing SMEs this facility is going to be crucial to the development and the sustainability of small and medium-sized businesses in the country. Many of them are facing tremendous challenges, whether it has to do with access to funding, general business management, getting credit, accessing new markets or being able to manage their back office facilities. This is going to be critical to the development of SMEs and their survival in the country.

“SMEs are still considered to be lifeblood of the economy. The Help Desk is going to bring a level of support to SMEs, a level of assistance which will help them to develop their businesses and to identify new markets and new opportunities as well as how to access new markets through technology and the rest of it,” he said.

Mr Sumner stressed that the initiative will be nationwide. “We are not doing just doing this for Nassau. This is going to be a nationwide initiative. We are inviting in persons from the Family Islands who are going to be involved in this training exercise in September. We are bringing in members from the Chambers of Commerce from the eight Chambers in the Family Islands to get the necessary training they need and be able to take it back to their communities and help to build small businesses there.”

Mr Sumner said that the Chamber was still in support of the promised Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Development Agency (SMEDA), although the idea seems to have taken a back seat for the moment. “We know that that it is still on the agenda of the Government but I think that in recent times the attention has been drawn more to the development of a national development plan which is being done out of the Office of the Prime Minister. The Chamber was very instrumental in the initial work of SMEDA and the Chamber, based on the framework we have seen, will also be very involved in the operations of SMEDA.

“We have a very keen interest in seeing that entity established although it seems to have taken a back seat. The SMEDA programme is now squarely in the hands of the Government as far as the next steps of its development is concerned.”