Wellington gives back to alma mater

The celebration of International Women’s Day 2021 was severely curtailed here in Barbados, and many places around the world, by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, CIBC FirstCaribbean still celebrated the women on its team and some of the stakeholders of the bank virtually on the day.

Managing Director for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Donna Wellington started her day by giving back to her alma mater with a virtual session for 5th and Upper 6th form students.

Having left St. Michael’s School some 34 years ago, Wellington wanted to assist the students there in whatever way she could, by supporting the business students.

The teachers chose the 5th and 6th form Management of Business students and the 6th formers undertaking Entrepreneurial Studies for the interactive session that dealt with ‘Sourcing finance in the setting up and establishment of a business’ and ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’.

Wellington explained the bank’s Barbados Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy to the students, which is divided into four key areas of Education, Health, Environment and Social Causes of which the Adopt-a-cause is probably the most well-known. She shared with them some of the organisations that have benefitted over the years from the assistance of this programme.

Then, the discussion turned to starting up a business and out of the 50 students and teachers, there were eight who readily confirmed plans to start a business at some point. She told them the key things required to start a business and the things that a lending institution looked for from applicants seeking to borrow money.

She explained the value of getting adequate experience before trying to start up their own business by working in other organisations first.

On the financial side, she explained the need to have financial clarity, avoid co-mingling of personal and business funds, paying themselves a salary and keeping proper financial records.

She said the bank should not be the first stop for small businesses seeking funding and revealed a variety of ways in which small businesses can more easily get that initial funding – equity, grant funding, angel funding or venture capital, joint venture funding, loans from friends and family or crowd funding.

She revealed that banks require structure and financial acumen from those seeking to borrow funds and this can only come from experience.

Students questioned her about the types of disclosure requirements for banks, the best sources of capital for venture set-ups, the use of actuaries in the bank and how to reduce payments on compound interest among other queries.

In addition, and also to commemorate International Women’s Day, the bank will shortly announce the awarding of a scholarship in nursing as the island seeks to cope with the shortage of nurses in the health
care sector. (PR)