Envoy urges diaspora to invest early as credit union roadshow continues

Barbados’ envoy to the United States has urged members of the diaspora to begin investing small sums regularly rather than waiting to accumulate large savings, as a joint government and credit union initiative seeks to channel overseas interest into housing and financial opportunities back home.

Speaking at the Barbados Consulate in New York on Tuesday, Ambassador Vic Fernandes told patrons at a roadshow involving the nation’s two leading credit unions and their umbrella league that the key to building wealth was “to stop working for money and get money to work for you”.

The five-part roadshow, staged under the Mobile Knowledge Hub, involves the Barbados Co-operative and Credit Union League Ltd, Barbados Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union Limited and the City of Bridgetown Credit Union (COB). The roadshow is targeting Barbadians across several cities, encouraging them to invest with Barbadian credit unions while also promoting opportunities for home ownership at COB’s Deantown development in St Silas, St James.

The housing project offers homes starting at just over $350 000, with up to 100 per cent financing available through COB. Other investment opportunities through the credit union movement were also presented.

“I realised that if you invest and you make the sacrifices, you will get to that stage where your money will begin to work for you,” Ambassador Fernandes said. “And so I got the concept that money should work for you, rather than continuing to always work for money.”

Drawing on his own experiences, the former Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation broadcaster and manager recalled advice he received from former longtime CBC accountant, the late Ethelred Knight, who encouraged him to begin investing with as little as $500.

“And he told me, you should never wait to get $10 000 or $15 000 to invest. Whatever little bit you have, make sure you go out there and put the money in some companies,” Fernandes said.

“[Knight] said to me: ‘I will guide you and I will show you what to do’. And I have to say, throughout his life, he never put me wrong, and most of those investments I made were solid investments.”

Referencing a real estate investment in Saint Lucia, Fernandes said patience and sacrifice eventually paid off.

“I just sat back over the years, and every quarter I hear ‘cha-ching, cha-ching’. And I look and I see, ‘Whoa, there’s money coming into the account’.”

He urged roadshow attendees to think beyond themselves and focus on creating opportunities for future generations.

“If we can build and make it better for the next generation, I think we will do ourselves a great favour,” he said.

At the end of the event, presentations were made to credit union leadership by Barbados Permanent Resident to the United Nations, Ambassador Francois Jackman, Ambassador Fernandes, and Deputy Consul General Dr Lisa Jaggernauth, who organised the event.

Deputy Consul General at the Barbados Consulate in New York Dr Lisa Jaggernauth (right) presenting to Katrina Haynes representative of City of Bridgetown Credit Union. (Contributed Photo

(LE)