SBDF and minister discuss
small business development
PHILIPSBURG/WILLEMSTAD--Identifying additional funding and supporting resources for small businesses on St. Maarten was one of the areas representatives of the Small Business Development Foundation (SBDF) discussed recently with Economic Affairs Minister Elvis Tjin Asjoe.
SBDF President, Veronica Webster, and Executive Director Ludwig Ouenniche were in Curaçao for the regional Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Intermediaries Conference and they used the opportunity to meet with the minister.
Also discussed was the Small Enterprise Stimulation Programme of the Netherlands Antilles SESNA, a European Commission-funded initiative, that came to an end in January. SBDF has been exploring all avenues to further assist the existing local SMEs, and help create new ones.
According to a press statement by the local representatives, it was encouraging to learn that the minister was aware of the situation on St. Maarten and the other islands. “He recognised the importance for the formal SESNA units to continue promoting and introducing business opportunities for the creation of local entrepreneurs.”
The minister also mentioned possible help from the Central Government, similar to that provided to the Curaçao foundation ADECK/SeDECK, they added. “He confirmed that he was working on that possibility and other avenues that would provide the much-needed funds to promote the sustainability of the SME sector.”
During that meeting, information was also exchanged about the SESNA Financial programme that is still being implemented in the Windward Islands by the Development Bank of the Netherlands Antilles OBNA.
The minister inquired about the success of the SMEs that had been started and if they had been guided by SBDF for a period of time after their inception. SBDF representatives explained that they had just learned about the high rate of delinquency among the SME loan recipients. “The discontinuation of the non-financial assistance is believed to have played a role in this delinquency.”
