Small & Medium Enterprises Can Access Loan Refinancing Facility

Small and medium-sized enterprises may now refinance their stalled renewable energy projects under Government’s recently-created Loan Refinancing Facility. 

Those small and medium-sized businesses which obtained loan financing from banks and other lenders to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems but were unable to connect to the grid because of the pause of interconnection by the Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd., may apply for the loan.

The new facility, which was announced in this year’s Budgetary Proposals and came into effect on April 1, is being administered by the Enterprise Growth Fund Limited and FundAccess. The loan is at an interest rate of 3.75 per cent.

Projects eligible for refinancing are distributed scale solar PV systems and solar farm PV systems. However, priority will be given to PV systems which do not exceed 150 per cent of the energy demand of the business. 

For queries on the Loan Refinancing Facility, businesses should email smartfund@barbados.gov.bb. This facility is a component of the Ministry of Energy and Business’ Sustainable Energy Investment Program (Smart Fund II).

Minister of Energy and Business, Senator Lisa Cummins, underscored the importance of the facility, saying that it would offer relief to affected small and medium sized enterprises, as well as stabilise the renewable energy ecosystem.

“Small and Medium Sized businesses are the focus for this facility. More small businesses than I can count have told us about the financial challenges they have experienced while they await grid connections. By aligning this financing facility for small businesses, with the launch of the battery energy storage projects, businesses are being provided with a critical support mechanism that allows them to refinance their stalled renewable energy projects and plan their connections to the grid, while freeing up their cash flows. This facility gives them the ability to transfer their financing from other financial institutions to the Smart Fund II, where they will benefit from a break from repayments and have the space to breathe without worrying about losing assets they have held as collateral to financial institutions,” Senator Cummins stated.

She also expressed appreciation to the Barbados Bankers Association and the Credit Union movement for working closely with the Ministry of Energy and Business and the Smart Fund II, along with the Fund Managers, Fund Access and the Enterprise Growth Fund Limited.

Senator Cummins: “This is yet another example of what we can do when we work together. So, we worked collaboratively with the financial institutions to design this facility and we will work just as closely with them as we roll it out across the country.”

She noted, however, “…that priority would be given to entities that met the statutory or operational definitions of a small or medium-sized enterprise, according to the Small Business Development Act, or related revenue and ownership benchmarks.”

Smart Fund II was developed to further reduce Barbados’ dependency on imported fossil fuels through the increased use of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. The program is funded by a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank and a grant from the European Union. (PR/GIS)