The National Commercial Bank of Anguilla (NCBA) has formally launched its Small and Medium-size Enterprise (SME) Loan campaign.
The launch, on Tuesday night, May 9th, 2023, took place at the Anguilla Music Academy. It followed five weeks of training in SME business financial literacy, and the NCBA CEO, Mrs. Sharmaine Vaughan, was excited to introduce the loan product at the tail-end of the training exercises.
Following a prayer by Mrs. Samantha Derrick, a disclaimer was presented by the CEO relative to the nature of the loan package, which provided a list of conditions which the Bank would not be liable for.
“This evening we are very happy to present our small business loan product,” the CEO said, as she formally opened the event. “This product is very much needed for our small and medium-sized business segment of customers.”
Mrs. Vaughan provided some context regarding the economic environment in which the loan programme would be executed.
She said because Anguilla had gone through some severe economic shocks, it is more reason that the Bank should cater to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses.
She noted that the failure of the two legacy banks in 2016 – National Bank of Anguilla and Caribbean Commercial Bank, had made a significant impact on the local economy. She observed that this impact still continues because the adverse debt levels still exist.
In addition, she mentioned that Hurricane Irma in 2017 also had a crucial impact on Anguilla’s economy, and, a more pronounced economic drawback came as a result of COVID-19, when the economy came to a virtual halt.
She said the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war also continues to impact the island.
“When you look at the disruption of the supply chain and the levels of inflation that affect us today, we see that economies, in general, are being impacted,” she said.
According to the Bank CEO, as a result of all these adversities we are experiencing an increased cost of living, and in particular she referred to the resent SME sessions. She said that the factor of the cost of living was evident in the discussions during the sessions.
She said the sessions dealt heavily with the importance of SME’s.
“When we look at global numbers in terms of World Bank 2022, SMEs represent 90% of all businesses globally. In the Caribbean region, according to CDB, a 2021 report stated that SMEs represent 70% to 85% of all Caribbean businesses,” Mrs. Vaughan said. “This is a significant sector which represents 50% of our employment numbers. So, SMEs constitute a sector that requires the necessary support and assistance for its continued growth and survival.”
“How do we plan to assist the SME’s so that they can grow?” she said. “We start with Financial Management Training. We have just come out of a five-week training programme where we have equipped small business owners and medium-sized business owners with the tools required to run their businesses successfully.”
The CEO promised that the Bank will continue to run similar training sessions, provide one-on-one advice, and mentor small and medium-sized business owners on an on-going basis. She projected that in another three months a similar workshop will be held.
During the launch, the CEO introduced the five presenters who facilitated the workshop sessions. They had been drawn from the Bank’s executive staff members.
Certificates were issued to those graduates who participated in the Financial Literacy Workshops for Small and Medium-sized businesses, and a few of the graduates were given the opportunity to testify how the training benefitted them.
