CBI agent and popular hotelier, Sam Raphael, has corroborated a call made by WISE Q95 CEO, Sheridan Gregoire, on the need to source alternative financing for small businesses in Dominica. Gregoire posits that established businessmen should help out new entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by offering financial incentives where entrepreneurs cannot access bank loans.
Basing his advice on the fact that many new businesses refuse to grow when entrepreneurs are not able to inject funds into their growth, Gregoire said the bank is a dead end to aspiring businessmen and that established business could assist newer ones. The WISE Q95 CEO said government grants and loans are not working for new entrepreneurs, and that a more creative financial program should be implemented in Dominica.
Supporting the stance of Gregoire, Raphael said the traditional loan financing model has failed entrepreneurs and stunted the growth of private businesses in Dominica. The hotelier said the government must provide the private sector with the leverage to raise private funds to nourish business ideas and foster their growth.
Raphael also advised new entrepreneurs to rely less on the government by thinking outside the box to raise business capital. He made it clear that small businesses can create a joint partnership or cooperative to help out one another so that businesses can blossom for the betterment of the entire country.
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