NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) executive director Davinia Grant said yesterday that “round two” of the entity’s stand-alone grant program will launch next week.
Grant who was addressing a Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) conference yesterday also noted that the second round of the $5,000 standalone grant programme will be launched November 19.
Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis revealed last week that the SBDC has shifted its budget to allocate an additional $500,000, bringing the total programme allocation to $1 million.
Grant also noted that while the entity’s funding threshold was a maximum of $500,000 there will be opportunities a small number of businesses to access up to $1 million in financing.
“Up to this point our maximum was $500,000,” she said.
“Very soon as we release more and more of the programmes, there will be some of them where we target investments of up to $1 million. Some of that will be equity, some of that will be debt.
“We are really looking to help the small to medium-sized business to be able to expand; expand their manufacturing operations and the value-added products and services we can create on top of the strategic advantages we have here in The Bahamas. Those types of companies will have access to up to $1 million but those will be few and far in between. There will probably be a couple of companies approved at that level,” said Grant.
Grant noted that to-date the SBDC has provided over $50 million to well over 900 clients.
