Bahamian businesses Building

heading up the small Business Development centre, Davinia Blair is at the heart of an initiative to encourage local entrepreneurs

Interview by steve cotterill

the small Business Development Centre (SBDC) is part of an initiative by the government of The Bahamas to cultivate the nation’s entrepreneurs and business talent to help grow the economy and build for a sustainable future

The SBDC is the result of a tripartite arrangement between the Ministry of Finance, the University of The Bahamas and The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation.

The centre works to guide the development and funding of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughout the countr y and help prospective entrepreneurs realize their dreams of business ownership, as well as aiding existing businesses to remain competitive in a complex, ever-changing national, regional and global marketplace.

Davinia Blair, who was appointed executive director of the SBDC in June last year, offers some insight into the aims of the initiative and the government ’ s vision for the future of Bahamian businesses

Q:What was the thinking behind the creation of the SBDC?

A: The government has been charged with stimulating the economy through creating employment, among other things Traditionally, foreign direct investment (FDI) has been the main conduit to achieve this, rather than through domestic investment

However, in regards to sustainable investment, the government looked at new models to encourage local people to create their own businesses so that Bahamians can invest more readily in their own economy, contributing through employment, local commerce and business-to-business activities.

Expanding and encouraging small businesses is an easy method to create sustainable growth and one that has been used around the world, in many cases accounting for the lion’s share of employment. Even before our current efforts, registered small businesses in The Bahamas employed just under

50 per cent of the workforce and generated 20 per cent of the countr y ’ s overall revenue, supporting a significant percentage of the population.

If the centre, as envisioned by the government, is able to strengthen existing businesses and expand the number of small enterprises creating employment for Bahamians, then I think we have an economy that can sur vive international shocks much more successfully than the FDI model