As we reflect on the economic performance of our country over the last five years, we were witness to an unacceptably high rate of business closures; some closures were due to the recession and others were due to bad public policies exacerbating an already difficult situation.

We are here today to talk about the role a PLP government will play in assisting Small and Medium size enterprises (SME) to facilitate economic growth, jobs creation and increase Bahamian ownership of the Bahamian economy through entrepreneurship.

In our last term in office we made available $3 million through our Venture Capital Fund, allocated an additional $25 million through one of our public financial institutions and added $1.5 billion to the Bahamian economy so the PLP has a solid track record of growing our economy, supporting the growth and development SME’s and increasing Bahamian ownership in our economy.

The next PLP administration is committed to amending Hotel Encouragement Act to require hotels to engage Bahamian entertainment and to utilize Bahamian companies for ground transport and room and tour bookings.

We will create a Bahamian Venture Fund, building on the success of the PLP’s Venture Capital Fund to provide start-up capital and technical support for new and innovative businesses, with a minimum of 100 new Bahamian businesses offered support each year.

For smaller business ventures, we propose Small Business Micro-Loans, where we will utilize 2-5% of license fees collected from local commercial banks to establish a small business fund mandated to provide micro-loans up to $10,000 for small businesses.

Additionally, under our proposed Community Business Development Program, we will bring Bahamians with various skills together to form cooperatives and small businesses with the government providing initial coordination and technical assistance. This initiative will give focused attention to the unemployed and the at-risk youths in our local communities around our archipelago.

I reiterate the challenge and commitment our leader issued at a nationally televised address on jobs and the economy:

“Why can’t we encourage and support Bahamians who want to build boutique hotels, small resorts with strong niche or specialized appeal – for fly-fishing, for example. Faith-based tourism, eco-tourism, and medical tourism also present major opportunities for Bahamian ownership. What’s the government’s role in all this? To help Bahamians with access to affordable start-up capital, affordable land, technical support, and marketing expertise. Why shouldn’t Bahamians own more of the tourism industry? We can and we should and under the next PLP government we will!”

Building on our record, we stand ready to get to work for Bahamians on day one, put Bahamians first and set this country on the right course of sustained development and prosperity.