NASSAU, BAHAMAS- A well-known businessman yesterday challenged aspiring entrepreneurs and businesspersons to come forward with credible and bankable ideas, arguing that the country is “awash in liquidity.”
Sir Franklyn Wilson, FOCOL Holdings Chairman, told the Invest Fest forum, “The country is awash in liquidity. Banks are chasing people to lend money because Bahamian entrepreneurs are not coming forward with credible, bankable ideas. Stop waiting, people—do things.”
Sir Franklyn also encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs and businesspersons to believe in themselves, save, and build equity of their own. “You can’t go to the bank looking for equity if you don’t have any of your own,” he said.
He further predicted that FOCOL and other local companies could reach a point where they grow beyond what local banks can lend.
“There are limits to what any bank in The Bahamas can do. For a long time, banks in The Bahamas were branches, particularly the Canadian banks, where the balance sheet was tied to the global bank. With the shift towards localization, Canadian banks now have a limit to what they can lend. This has forced FOCOL to broaden its international relationships in terms of where it borrows money because the banks here can only lend so much. FOCOL is currently in serious discussions with some of the largest banks in the world, and we expect soon to make an announcement involving a major U.S. government-related bank,” said Sir Franklyn.
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