Blair: Small Business Development Center’s Goal is Greater Wealth Distribution

Davinia Blair, Small Business Development Center Executive Director

The goal of the center will be wealth distribution

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is scheduled to open on September 20, its Executive Director Davinia Blair said on Thursday last week, adding that its goal will be wealth distribution among Bahamians.

Blair, who was a speaker at a town hall meeting to discuss the Economic Empowerment Zones Bill, 2018 said a collaboration involving the Ministry of Finance, the University of The Bahamas and the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation will allow the SBDC to reach all Bahamians across all the islands at once.

The center will take a hands-on approach

She added that this collaboration will create linkages to help entrepreneurs use a wide variety of resources to move their businesses forward in an effort to create wealth.

Blair explained some of the business advisory services that will be provided by the SBDC, noting that the center will be hands-on in order to give entrepreneurs the best chance at success.

“I really don’t like the concept of printing a document and telling people to execute it, because in many cases if you could have done that, then you would have been doing it,” she said. “So we changed the model.”

Blair explained that the services of the SBDC will be as complex and as hands-on as helping a business decide on pricing, but also as rudimentary as providing mentorship to entrepreneurs.

An important feature of the center will be advocacy

The center will also provide incubation services, such as providing management training or office space for new and startup companies.

Blair said one of the most important features of the SBDC will be advocacy. She explained that this will include initiatives such as businesses collaborating on shipping in 40-foot containers in order to keep unit costs down for each business. She said the advantages of that kind of advocacy cannot be overlooked.

Source: Nassau Guardian