Owner of the recently opened, Sherwin-Williams Paints at Cassada Paints and Supplies, Huey Wiltshire, wants the local banking sector to be more responsive to the needs of indigenous businesses.
Wiltshire says while he understands that the banks must be prudent with shareholders’ money he believes that the banks can do more to help local businesses get off the ground.
“Lending institutions of Antigua and Barbuda need to be more aggressive and do a lot more to help people with viable ideas. Not every idea will make it, but the banks need to offer special ‘coaching’ services to help turn these ideas into successful businesses,” he stated.
He added that the banks must seriously look at the turnaround time when they get back to the businessperson. He noted that six months after approaching his bank for financing, he received no responses whatsoever from the institution. After nine months, he decided to approach them and to ask that they return all his documents.
“During that time, I went ahead and constructed the building for which I was seeking financing,” he disclosed. According to Wiltshire this was a bank he had first opened an account when he was about 5 or 6 years old and which had all his accounts.
He said the Antigua and Barbuda Development Bank (ABDB) was also unable to help him as they lacked the resources to offer to the type of loan that he was seeking. “They told me that their limit was EC$80-thousand. That’s inadequate because for some businesses, such as mine, that could be eaten up just by doing a feasibility study. Unless you are opening a sweetie-stand, I don’t see how that amount can help anyone,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Immigration and Trade Minister, Hon. E.P Chet Greene, is offering congratulations to Wiltshire on his entry into a very important niche area of trade. He also thanked him for the confidence he portrays in the national economy.
“I not only wish you success but pledge government’s continued development of the economy and encourage national patronage of your new and enterprising venture. I invite and encourage other young, talented, entrepreneurs to follow your lead and I commit the government to providing incentives and an environment conducive to operating successful businesses. I will personally visit and patronize as a personal testimony of support,” Greene
declared.
Wiltshire said the business has received ‘a very good’ response from the public since its opening.
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Banks should be prudent with depositors money not no shareholders.
Please Mr. Wiltshire, if you know what good for you, when some people patronise your business, ask them to pay by bank draft or cash. Don’t take personal cheques from them because the cheque likely to have more bounce than a tennis ball.
This is always an issue when it comes to financing your business. You have to be creative in order to make it.
Sad that a bank like ACB seems to have lost its customer service focus. Keeping a client so long without an answer is ridiculous. yet strangely the bank complains about its declining interest income and also laments its increasing operating expenditure. Since the banks have lost appetite for lending, its time for business people to step up and offer other sources of business funding eg (Venture capital). How about we start looking at crowdfunding? Just seems we prefer to sit and cry instead of recognizing and embracing new methods
@Tenman:
Why not encourage him to go to NAMCO.Put in a good word for him.After all you are an insider.Plus NAMCO seems to be buying up shares in other companies.Why not buy shares in this local man’s franchise and help him expand.
Tenman. Not hearing from you for a long time. Anyway. I have been crying for the banks to branch out into Venture Capital for so long. I started the process at BOA under Stanford but we never got to implement it. But I had already selected people with large CD’s to entice them for Venture Capital. People should not be afraid to put some of their eggs in that basket. Banks have different rules, but an investment arm of the banks can operate more freely. And the investment arm should be staffed with professionals that should make sure that investments are more or less safe. Monies are just sitting in the bank and there are no vehicles for investment available. Rather than to have your money in the bank as a depositor why not have it in the same bank as equity.
Notes From A Native Son Of the Rock! People of African descent “should re-assert a sense of agency in order to achieve sanity. … When black people view themselves as centered and central in their own history then they see themselves as agents, actors, and participants rather than as marginals on the periphery of political or economic experience.” – Dr. Molefi Asante!
Even during his time in University, this young man studied and lived out his student days as an “Entrepreneur Extraordinaire!” He was not daunted by the hostile political, economic or socio-cultural environment! He practiced and learned his craft with diligence and joy!
Kudos To Huey Wiltshire!
“Whenever a person delineates a cultural boundary around a particular cultural space in human time, this is called marking. It might be done with the announcement of a certain symbol, the creation of a special bonding, … we must be prepared to act upon our interpretation of what is in the best interest of black people, that is, black people as an historically oppressed population. This is the fundamental necessity for advancing the political, (economic, socio-cultural, technological, legal and environmental) process.” – Asante!
Mr Wiltshire never mentioned the financial institution’s name so why!!! Anyway i will patronize this venture and of course continue to support Colour Xpressions on American Road.
It is called avoiding a lawsuit. He calls the bank/company name and they can sued him for defamation.
defamation
the action of damaging the good reputation of someone; slander or libel
I have no problems getting funding from Banks in Antigua.You have to have some capital and a good business plan.Then go in and sit with the loans folks at any Bank.You are blaming “Banks” publicly.Do you accept any responsibility for the non funding issues.I am just asking.
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