Entrepreneurs across Barbados continue to take full advantage of Government’s Trust Loan Fund facility as they seek to expand their operations.
On Thursday, approximately 25 entrepreneurs including some in manufacturing, farming, retail, vending, marketing and the service industry, concluded training in finance management and customer service among other areas.
Shane Knight, owner of Fresh Farm Foods, one of the participants, told Barbados TODAY he was able to form his business this year, a few months after resigning from his full-time job as a transporter.
However, about a month after he officially got started through the national $2 million Farmers’ Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive (FEED) programme, which started in 2019 and is aimed at helping to reduce the island’s food import, the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
Knight, who has his vegetable farm in Christ Church, said his loan from the Trust Loan Fund on Thursday would go toward raising chickens and pigs.
His eight-month-old farm currently produces cucumbers, squash, cassava, tomatoes and potatoes.
“It will help me to go a little further into my business and it will give me that cushion where I will not have to be under tremendous stress because of the COVID-19. So it will give me that break for me to do better,” he declared.
Knight told members of the media that starting the business a month prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult, but given that he was involved in the production of food, the pandemic worked in his favour.
“It was hard to start, but because of COVID I was lucky enough that I reaped crops just in time to get that market boom where there wasn’t imports. So my first reaping was fairly alright, but now things have levelled out, so it is normal for me as a new business. It takes a little adjustment after the first harvest. So it is a little iffy now with sleepless nights, but I think that is part of the business,” he said.
Knight, who gave up his full-time job to own his own business, said it was always his passion to do farming so he had little problem in “taking the opportunity” last year to leave his job to venture into the FEED programme when he found out about it.
FEED programme is a three-year programme operated by the Barbados Agricultural, Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC).
Meanwhile, public transportation operator Junior Reid, who had several jobs at various institutions across the island, said he believed it was time for him to branch out and start a formal business so he turned to the Trust Loan Fund for assistance.
Reid received his permit to get involved in the Government-run Transport Augmentation programme a few months ago but needed assistance to get his insurance and road tax up to date.
That was when he decided to apply to the Trust Loan Fund for assistance and he was eager to take part in the training initiatives.
Reid, who has been in the transport business for the past 12 years and now owns the Dymund Auto Tours company, said he believes the insurance industry could play a greater role in helping to curtail the bad behaviour associated with public service vehicle operators. He said tracking devices were simply not enough.
“I think the insurance companies can play a part which would help a lot. I think a lot of the younger drivers could be eliminated in that they should not get the licence until age 25 or 26. I believe that will make this business a lot better in all aspects,” he suggested.
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