Antigua Breaking News

Category: Business

  • LIAT suspends services due to volcanic activity

    LIAT suspends services due to volcanic activity

    LIAT has suspended all flights in the southern part of its network as of Friday April 9  due to the volcanic activity in St. Vincent. The extended suspension, which affects all flights south of Dominica, is been caused by the explosive eruptions of the La Soufriere volcano in St. Vincent. These eruptions continue to spew…

  • LIAT pilots say ex-gratia payments are not enough

    LIAT pilots say ex-gratia payments are not enough

    Barbados TODAY: The LIAT pilots’ umbrella body has issued a strong response to this government’s decision to offer ex-gratia payments to those terminated Barbadian flyers who Bridgetown says should legally be paid their severance by Antigua and Barbuda where they paid severance fund contributions. In a memorandum dated April 1, 2021 and circulated to its…

  • CalvinAir Helicopters to provide 2 flights daily between Antigua and Montserrat

    CalvinAir Helicopters to provide 2 flights daily between Antigua and Montserrat

    CalvinAir Helicopters, based in Antigua, will provide air transportation between Montserrat and Antigua two times per day from April 11 to April 21, 2021 During this period, the John A. Osborne Airport on Montserrat will be closed to the usual fixed-wing aircraft flight operations as runway resurfacing work will be undertaken. The Helicopter Service by…

  • Dixie Call Center places all staff on temporary layoff to await final decision on closure

    Dixie Call Center places all staff on temporary layoff to await final decision on closure

    Approximately 200 workers of Dixie Call Center trading as “Cassava Enterprises” on Old Parham Road may soon be out of a job. The company held a zoom meeting with staff to break the bad news to them. A staff member said the company informed them of the decision to close until April 14, 2021, following…

  • Central Bank statement on sale of Royal Bank of Canada

    Central Bank statement on sale of Royal Bank of Canada

    The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) advises that effective April 1, 2021, the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) operations in Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Montserrat, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis and Saint Lucia have ceased, having been acquired by a consortium of national banks. The Consortium of banks comprises: Antigua Commercial…

  • ECCB officially launches Digital EC Dollar – DCash

    ECCB officially launches Digital EC Dollar – DCash

    The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) officially launched its digital currency -DCash on Wednesday, touting the initiative as being safer, faster and cheaper. The four pilot countries where the public can obtain DCash are  Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis and Saint Lucia. Speaking at Wednesday’s official DCash launching ceremony,…

  • RBC successfully completes sale of its Eastern Caribbean banking operations

    RBC successfully completes sale of its Eastern Caribbean banking operations

    Today, Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) (RBC) announced that it has received the required approvals from local governments and from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank for the sale of its Eastern Caribbean banking operations. The transaction closes today. This sale has RBC selling its Eastern Caribbean banking operations to a consortium…

  • Antigua Cruise Port solidifies home port deal with P&O Cruises

    Antigua Cruise Port solidifies home port deal with P&O Cruises

    Antigua Cruise Port has finalized negotiations with Carnival-owned P&O Cruises, the world’s largest leisure company, to homeport a new mega-ship in Antigua. The vessel “Arvia,” which translates from Latin to “From the Seashore”, is currently under construction in Germany and will join the P&O Cruises fleet in December 2022. Antigua Cruise Port led by Dona…

  • ECAB announces new operating hours

    ECAB announces new operating hours

  • UK Supports Get Safe Online Initiative for Residents of Antigua and Barbuda

    UK Supports Get Safe Online Initiative for Residents of Antigua and Barbuda

    Remittances have always played an important role in the lives of Caribbean natives. This has become even more important recently during the global pandemic. While there are many respectable and legitimate services that facilitate the transfer of funds, fraudsters have still managed to find ways to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals online. Get Safe Online…

  • Former Barbados-based LIAT workers to benefit from ex gratia payment

    Former Barbados-based LIAT workers to benefit from ex gratia payment

    BARBAOS TODAY: After months of frustration and suffering, much-needed cash will shortly be in the hands of some terminated Barbadian LIAT employees. Attorney General Dale Marshall told Parliament on Tuesday night during the Estimates debate, that these are the workers who should have been paid by the Antigua and Barbuda government because they contributed every…

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]. 

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]