Trust fund partners with credit union to increase loan opportunities

Clients of the Barbados Trust Fund Ltd. (BTFL) can now access loans above $10 000 as a result of a partnership between that entity and the BET Co-operative Credit Union Ltd.

On Tuesday, fisherman Cliviston Harris became the first BTFL client to benefit from this partnership when his wife Linda Harris collected a $45 000 cheque on his behalf at the credit union’s headquarters in Belleville, St Michael.

General Manager of the BTFL Gerry Amos told reporters that the decision to partner with the credit union stemmed from the growing demand from the trust fund’s clients to access loans over the $10 000 limit.

“We see a lot of micro-entrepreneurs coming up, they get the seed capital from us and when they reach a certain level there is nothing else we can do for them, and it is good that we can come outside of government and have an entity such as yours providing that financing for our clients. I hope this is the beginning of a lasting relationship,” said Amos.

The BTFL, which was established by the Government at the end of October 2018 with an initial capital injection of $10 million, provides loans of up to $5 000, in the first instance, to qualifying applicants, with the opportunity for them to borrow twice the amount upon successful repayment of the initial loan.

In addition to getting access to capital, entrepreneurs also have the opportunity to benefit from technical support, including business development and financial literacy training.

Amos said the cooperation with the credit union was formed around November last year, following several unsuccessful attempts by BTFL to partner with other credit unions and commercial banks over the past two years.

“We at the Barbados Trust Fund Limited continue to seek ways to improve the livelihood of our clients, and with this partnership with the BET Credit Union, we can see that as persons exceed our lending limit of $10 000 that we have a great partner who is willing to take those clients to another level,” said Amos.

“It was a pleasure to see that our client, through our training and mentoring, had all of their records in place and was able to make this transition quite smoothly.”

Amos was unable to say exactly how many of BTFL’s approximately 4 500 clients were currently seeking loans in excess of $10 000 but indicated there was a growing demand.

Currently, there are about 75 entrepreneurs seeking loans above $5 000 from the BTFL. To date, the BTFL has disbursed loans valuing just over $20 million.

After successfully repaying his two rounds of debt from the BTFL, Harris required further funding to replace an engine and carry out minor repairs on his fishing vessel.

His wife said they were overwhelmed to have been the first to benefit from the new partnership which is currently in a pilot phase.

Operations Manager of BET Co-operative Credit Union Ryan Reece said he was hoping the project would continue, noting that the financial institution was prepared to lend as much as $350 000 to eligible entrepreneurs.

“At this time, because the persons are recommended from the Trust Fund to us, they have to become members of the credit union first. So, once they are members they then benefit from the full suite of products that we have, so that can be up to $350 000,” said Reece.

Meanwhile, vice president of the BET Co-operative Credit Union Michael Alleyne said that the financial institution was aware of the struggles of micro and small businesses, especially over the past two years, and was pleased to help “advance the socio-economic position of many Barbadians”.

“As we know, things have been rough for the past couple of years with COVID and persons have found it very difficult to continue their own business ventures. So when we were approached, we were more than happy to see how we can assist those persons who would have exhausted their loan capital and needed some more assistance to carry on their business,” said Alleyne. (MM)