The Barbados Trust Fund Limited (BTFL) is continuing to work tirelessly to support local entrepreneurs.
General Manager of BTFL, Gerald Amos, outlined its various initiatives and plans on Wednesday night as he addressed the graduation ceremony of the 2023 Edition of the Manufest Manufacturing Incubator Programme (Cohort Two), at Bagnall Point Training Room, Pelican Village, St. Michael.
Mr. Amos noted that the Trust Fund had invested in technology and innovation with its new Loans Management System (LMS), where clients are now being offered an “end-to-end process”.
“One can apply for a loan and be disbursed electronically without having to physically visit the offices of the BTFL…. That system will provide online repayment methods for our clients, and for us to remit payments directly to suppliers and vendors on behalf of our clients.
“To support our new LMS, we have upgraded and redesigned our website to be more accessible and user-friendly for all who engage with us,” he told the audience.
With the 2024 International Cricket Council Men’s T20 World Cup being held in June, the General Manager stated that the BTFL intends to exploit available opportunities for entrepreneurs, so they can showcase and offer their goods and services, while ensuring their products are of world-class status.
During his wide-ranging remarks, Mr. Amos said BTFL had budgeted to host two Manufest programmes yearly, but the overwhelming response it received from entrepreneurs meant that three would have to be undertaken this year. The next cohort will start in May.
The Manufest Manufacturing Incubator Programme aims to enhance the quality and standards of products offered for export. Entrepreneurs are taken through a developmental journey tailored at improving business acumen, product standards, creating best practices, and providing clients with the insight needed to strengthen their businesses.
Mr. Amos said completion of the training did not signify that the participants’ journey had now come to an end. “We will seek to enroll …many of them into the Export Voyager Programme at Export Barbados, where they will be further exposed to understanding the roadmap of navigating export markets. We, at the BTFL, are absolutely delighted for the guidance and support offered by Export Barbados,” he shared.
Over 35 persons from Cohorts One and Two received their certificates at the graduation ceremony. (PR/GIS)
Caption: General Manager of the Barbados Trust Fund Limited, Gerald Amos, speaking at the 2023 graduation ceremony of the Manufest Manufacturing Incubator Programme (Cohort Two), at Bagnall Point Training Room
