Calls mount for swifter biz registration as AG warns delays hurt entrepreneurs

Difficulties in registering businesses in Barbados have triggered calls for faster, more user-friendly systems, with Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams warning that slow incorporation processes can cause entrepreneurs to miss business opportunities.

“I still do believe that the incorporation of businesses, formal businesses in Barbados, takes too long,” Abrahams said during Friday’s Estimates in Parliament for the Ministry of Energy, Business Development and Commerce, pointing to bureaucratic hurdles that continue to frustrate individuals seeking to formalise their businesses.

He explained that applications sometimes stall over minor similarities between business names, even when the operations differ entirely. He questioned what steps were being taken to streamline the process and reduce delays.

He also stressed the need to rethink how systems treat micro and small entrepreneurs, noting that many businesses do not operate from traditional commercial premises.

Abrahams said: “When you think of a business, you think of a building. But a lot of these small business [sic] Barbados don’t have a building. So we need to start thinking of the small man and not just putting him in a category of small business.”

He argued that small operators often possess strong growth potential if properly supported.

“He may be small, but with the potential to expand if he’s facilitated properly. So we need to make our facilities and our systems entirely user-friendly so as not to discourage persons at the very first hurdle of registering the actual business. Because a lot of people get turned off at that spot.”

The Attorney General added that the government frequently requires entrepreneurs to provide business registration details when interacting with the public service, yet the process to obtain them remains difficult.

“Invariably, as we do business with government, everything that government is asking you to do, they want you to have the TAMIS [tax identification] number or to give a business name or whatnot. So we are requiring it of the people, but yet we’re making it difficult or we have not made it easy for them to put themselves in a position where they’re compliant to receive even small business from government.”

Business Barbados, the government agency that has replaced the corporate registry office, CAIPO, has begun a major transformation to modernise systems that have operated for decades, said the agency’s chief, Tamiesha Rochester.

“Business Barbados is in the process of transforming the way we have done business and have done business for decades, and to move away from a system that was not built for business in the 21st century,” she said.

Rochester explained that work over the past year has focused on building the digital foundation for a new system while reviewing processes, workflows, and process engineering.

“Last year, we indicated that a new system was coming. And not only is a new system coming, but what we’ve done over the past year has been to lay the groundwork digitally for the improvements that are to come.”

A legislative blueprint is also under review to support the modernisation effort, she added, noting that a legislative drafter has been engaged.

Rochester acknowledged that much of the work has occurred behind the scenes as the agency builds the technological backbone and redesigns workflows.

“The end result: faster incorporations, stronger systems, more secure systems, and the ability for business persons to be able to move quickly without impediment.”

The agency has also begun capturing data on transaction times, steps, and customer feedback to guide improvements, she said.

The government is also developing a single online portal where entrepreneurs can access information on funding, loans, and services, creating a “one-stop shop” for business support, said Permanent Secretary Kevin Hunte.