There is good reason for hope that a number of Anguillians, seeking funding for small, but beneficial projects, will get some much-needed assistance from the British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce. This follows a top level visit to Anguilla from officials of the above organisation and discussions with key individuals and organisations.
The assistance is in terms of funding, with an initial amount of 200,000 pounds provided through the Department for International Development, an arm of the UK Government, on behalf of the British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber’s mission to Anguilla, as part of a regional tour, was led by high-ranking British official, the Rt. Hon. Lord Michael Howard of Lympne, CH, PC, QC. His most recent appointments, as a former British politician, were Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005.
He was accompanied to Anguilla by a team of British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce officials. They held talks with various financial and business representatives, and were guests at a small welcome reception hosted by Governor and Mrs. Tim Foy at Government House, Sea Feathers, on Monday evening, January 28.
There, The Anguillian newspaper was granted a brief interview with Lord Howard. “I am patron of the British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce, and we have plans to help small businesses in Anguilla grow,” he told the weekly journal. “We will be giving them loans which they can’t get from the banks because the banks will need security. We will lend to people who can’t get that security, but who will nevertheless pay the money back.”
Asked what particular sectors of the economy would be funded by the loans, Lord Howard replied: “Any sector having a good small business – with an opportunity to grow and will pay the money back.”
The rest of the interview progressed as follows:
What amount of funding is likely to be made available in loans? Can someone borrow up to 20,000 pounds for instance?
Probably not as much as that, but we haven’t yet got the scheme going so that’s a detail we will have to consider.
What response are you getting from your discussions in Anguilla?
It is too early to say. We are at a very early stage.
Can you please list with whom you have had talks so far?
We had good meetings with the Governor and the Chief Minister. We will meet with the Development Board and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry tomorrow [Tuesday, January 29]. These are exploratory meetings.
Is there a time factor whereby you can say, for example, that loans will be available by 2020?
I hope that will happen, but we can’t say that yet.
In a nutshell, Sir, what is the aim of the British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce in Anguilla?
It is to make the island more prosperous.
Meanwhile, Governor Foy was asked for his comments. He replied:
This is naturally important. We know what drives Anguilla is business and it is very, very important that business isn’t simply seen in terms of the big international hotels. We want local people to be able to have the financial means to start and grow their businesses – so that they, too, can participate in the most important industry on the island.
Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Victor Banks, was asked how he saw this initiative of the British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce. He had this to say:
I think it is an excellent idea. When Anguilla passed through that severe weather event in 2017, and we were seeking support for Anguilla’s redevelopment and restoration, and we were securing a package from the UK Government, I said to them: ‘As part of the package, we want to make sure that our partners in development in Anguilla also got an opportunity for some benefit. And particularly those partners, like small business enterprises, that didn’t have the resources to go after the commercials, and so forth, to get some support.’ Maybe there could be a pocket of a couple million dollars, or thirty million pounds, managed by the Social Security Board.
This is precisely what the British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce is seeking to do. It sought to do so with the support of DFID. It was not successful then, but still persisted as an important way of taking this forward. So they, DFID, have [now] agreed to put up an additional package of some 200,000 pounds which they hope can be topped by other sources – whether locally or elsewhere – to be on-lent by some other institution. They are looking at the Anguilla Development Board and, of course, will set out the guidelines for the purpose.
But the initiative is to help those small or one-man businesses, or a man and a truck kind of operations, that can benefit from that support on a revolving basis. Even though it begins with the idea of trying to capture and support small businesses in this period, it would also be for the longer period.
I think it is an excellent idea. A contingent from the British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce visited Anguilla late last year, and now they have come back under the leadership of Lord Howard who is the former Leader of the Conservative Party. He has an interest in the Caribbean, and I asked a specific question: ‘What was the Chamber’s motivation?’ He said they just want to help to build businesses throughout the Commonwealth, especially in small states like Anguilla. They are also creating opportunities for businesses in the UK.
This is a trip that they are taking throughout the former British Caribbean and other islands. It is something that is going to be useful and we will know, in the next couple days, what form it will take and what decisions they will have – but certainly they are happy with what they have seen in Anguilla so far.
