Todd: Give SMEs a better deal

Commercial banks need to give Barbados’ small and medium enterprises (SMEs)  a better lending deal.Minister of State in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Patrick Todd, made this point yesterday.Such banks have to stop being so “averse” to risks and to help SMEs “with the appropriate working capital required to develop an export-focussed business”,  he said.Todd made the comments at the opening of an export marketing training programme at Accra Beach Hotel for SMEs and business support organisations  in Caribbean  Forum (CARIFORUM)  member countries. He called for a commercial banking sector “that is more willing to facilitate a financial and technological framework that allows for greater levels of e-commerce by those SMEs who would have invested money,  time and energy in  a more sophisticated approach to  doing business”.However, Todd also spoke of the need for SMEs businesses to get their house in order.“. . . they have a sacred responsibility to protect their own interests by retooling, restrategising and refocussing on their own development needs,” he told the meeting.He also underscored the importance of regional businesses meeting international product standards and co-operating to exploit the financial, technical and capacity-building assistance being provided under the EPA between Europe and CARIFORUM countries, most of them members of CARICOM.He said that while the EPA offered Caribbean businesses many opportunities for trading with Europe, there were “some inherently grave challenges”.These included an  end to the Caribbean’s guaranteed special prices for sugar and other commodities as well as regulations preventing sugar confectionery and syrups from entering the European Union until 2015, Todd noted.Twenty-seven people from Barbados, Suriname, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica and Grenada are attending the workshop, which runs for three days.,The workshop  is the first module  of a six-month training programme that  will embrace all CARIFORUM countries.It is financed by Inwent, the German  non-profit organisation with worldwide  operations dedicated  to human resource development, advanced training, and dialogue. The Caribbean  Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) is a key agency behind the project.  (TY)