Young entrepreneurs access loan funds
The timing may be suspicious, but the intention behind the programme appears to be sound. Today News 5’s Jacqueline Woods was on hand as more young Belizeans got the opportunity to take a big step toward a secure future.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The loans are provided through the Youth for the Future Enterprise Fund to help young people start or expand their own business. The idea is to give youths an opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial skills.
Mervin Lambey, Co-ordinator, Y.F.F. Enterprise Fund
“It is something that has been happening in the Caribbean for developing countries where the population, the majority of the population are young people. It is critical that more and more young people enter into the formal sector and one way to do it is by job creation.”
Today, Y.F.F. made its second loan disbursement to seventeen young people. The money, totalling seventy-seven thousand dollars, is being made available through the Small Farmers and Business Bank.
Jacqueline Woods
“This programme is basically to assist youths in starting up their own business. What’s the age limit because I noticed one of the recipients is thirty-seven years old?”
Mervin Lambey
“There are a few special cases where people…we have an age limit of eighteen to thirty, but there are a few special cases where people over thirty will be employing young people in the business that they are doing, and in that way it’s creating a job for another young person. So for cases like that we’ll consider those cases and still afford those people the opportunity to get a loan.”
One such case that was considered is Jose Barrera of S and S Paint Shop. Barrera opened his business five months ago.
Jacqueline Woods
“What will the money be used for?”
Jose Barrera, Owner, S & S Paint Shop
“To expand the business to make it more of a one-stop shop, so that the customers can get everything in one-stop for the automotive section of the business. Like when they can anything for body works, they can get everything there.”
Twenty-six year old Krisna White is about to embark on his new venture.
Krisna White, Entrepreneur
“Fishing is the thing I love and I’m very happy to have this loan.”
Jacqueline Woods
“What will you use the money for?”
Krisna White
“I will use the money to buy a boat and an engine and I will have, actually employees working for me.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Do you believe you would have received the same response if you had walked into any of the commercial banks?”
Decoy Flores, Owner, Creative Works
“Well, as Mr. Muhammad said this morning, it’s usually difficult to get loans in the commercial banks, you have to show collateral, you have to g through all these red tape to actually get the loan going. So this is a good idea, you just write up a proposal, you come into the office, you speak to a couple people and you verify that it’s something that you actually want to do.”
According to the coordinator of the Youth Enterprise Fund, Mervin Lambey, they plan to extend the credit facility across the country.
Jacqueline Woods
“There must be some criteria here though, not just anybody can walk into the offices and apply for one of these loans.”
Mervin Lambey
“We have a protocol, but essentially what we’re trying to do is be youth sensitive, because there are a lot of credit facilities that are available, but for young people who may not have the collateral and may not have the other things that the other lending facilities require, we have made it a little bit easier. Clearly then, the onus will be on us to be a little bit more stringent when it comes to payment and that sort of things, and that’s what we intend to do.”
Lambey says in addition to the loans they also provide training and support for the recipients to ensure that their businesses are run soundly. Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
The funds are part of a youth-sensitive one million dollar credit facility made available by the Ministry of Budget Planning through the Small Farmers and Business bank.
