Finance & Technical Assistance for MSMEs Part II
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SEMINAR HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO
FRIDAY, JULY 3, AT 11 A.M.
Access to finance is and has always been the vulnerable spot of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). COVID-19 has increased this challenge as these small enterprises hit by zero cash flow due to the national lockdowns, must now identify the funding necessary to finance capital expenditure and working capital requirements for resuming business post COVID-19.
The National Export Strategy of Saint Lucia identified Access to Finance as one of the key areas to be addressed to allow companies to improve their export capacity, citing it as “one of the most important constraints on MSME growth world-wide”. The Strategy was launched on February 18, 2020 and identifies several activities to address Access to Finance deficiencies of MSMEs. One such activity is “To improve the ability of SMEs to apply for loans”.
As part of the implementation of the National Export Strategy Export Saint Lucia will partner with the National Television Network (NTN) to raise awareness of opportunities for finance available to MSMEs from local financial institutions, and to build capacity of MSMEs to access these opportunities by educating on the requirements for securing these.
On Friday, July 3, 2020, Export Saint Lucia and the National Television Network (NTN) will host a panel discussion entitled Finance & Technical Assistance for MSMEs on from 11 a.m. -12 p.m. at the NTN studios.
The following financial institutions will present on the opportunities which are available to MSMEs:
- The Saint Lucia Development Bank
- The First National Bank
- The Laborie Credit Union
The panel discussion will also include a brief feature on the National Export Strategy.
PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS
- Government of Saint Lucia
- The National Television Network
- Financial Institutions Agencies
- MSMEs