Latest SBDC grant round injects $569,000 into businesses Small Business Development Center Executive Director Davinia Grant. AHVIA J. CAMPBELL
The Access Accelerator Small Business Development Centre’s most recent standalone grant program pumped more than $500,000 into 129 small businesses, the Access Accelerator noted in a press statement, adding that the full program has helped to support more than 2,000 jobs.
This third round of grants, the Access Accelerator stated, totaled $569,000 and brings the amount given to small businesses over the life of the program to $2.3 million across 549 businesses.
“The Standalone Grant Program gives small business owners access to up to $5,000 in grant funding,” the statement revealed.
Minister of State for Finance Kwasi Thompson speaks during a press conference on Monday, December 21, 2020. (BIS PHOTO/ULRIC WOODSIDE)
NASSAU, BAHAMAS The Access Accelerator Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) has found a new home in the old Phil’s food store building on Gladstone Road, according to Minister of State for Finance Kwasi Thompson.
Thompson made the announcement while appearing along with SBDC Executive Director Davinia Grant as a guest on the Bahamas At Sunrise morning show.
The SBDC is preparing to launch tech grants this coming Wednesday. It is also launching a youth program for individuals aged 18 to 30.
Grant said: “With the youth program, we are actually going to take a group of entrepreneurs and put them in a location, give them a retail space and advise them on their business.”
A Disney Cruise Line ship sets sail. (PHOTO: DISNEY CRUISE LINE)
ELEUTHERA, BAHAMAS Hundreds of Bahamian students returning to school after the holiday break received new tablets donated by Disney Cruise Line.
Disney Cruise Line Vice President of Public Affairs Kim Prunty said: “Community leaders have shared their desire for students to continue to adapt to a technology-based learning environment.
“It is our hope that this donation will help provide students with the tools they need for academic success, both in the virtual environment and in the classroom.”
Disney Cruise Line donated 230 tablets to students in need throughout South Abaco and South Eleuthera. The tablets are intended not only to assist students with their day-to-day learning but improve their overall educational experience.
Disney Cruise Line funded thousands of meals for families in South and Central Eleuthera, New Providence and Abaco over the 2020 holiday season. (PHOTO: DISNEY CRUISE LINE)
ELEUTHERA, BAHAMAS Disney Cruise Line joined local community leaders to help spread magic this holiday season by funding thousands of meals for families in South and Central Eleuthera, New Providence and Abaco.
On Eleuthera, Disney Cruise Line contributed $25,000 to the South and Central Eleuthera Community Christmas Dinner-in-a-Bag outreach program, which went toward the assembly of 2,800 dinner bags for families in need throughout settlements in South and Central Eleuthera over the holiday week.
Disney Cruise Line VP of Public Affairs Kim Prunty said: “We know this year has been difficult for so many of our co-workers and friends in The Bahamas. Joining with community leaders, our team made it a priority to help feed local families during the holidays at a time when this assistance is more importa
Hundreds of new small businesses established despite pandemic Edison Sumner.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of new small businesses have sprouted over the past several months, proving that “crisis breeds opportunity”, Principal of Sumner Strategic Partners and Vice Chair of the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund (BEVF) Edison Sumner said yesterday.
The government has spent $47.3 million providing grants and loans to small businesses since the start of the pandemic.
More than 400 businesses have applied for the Access Accelerator Small Business Development Centre’s second round of grant disbursements alone.
Sumner said Bahamian entrepreneurs have stepped up to the plate to fill the void in a number of sectors, while employing more innovative approaches to how they conduct their businesses.