Antigua Breaking News

Category: Business

  • Staff cuts at Observer Newsco

    Staff cuts at Observer Newsco

    Newsco, owners of the Daily Observer and Observer Radio is laying off staff. A company source says approximately seven staff, mainly from the news department had their last day on Friday. The company has also warned of more cuts as its financial position cannot support the payroll. Newsco, now managed  Alrgernon ‘Serpent’ Watts and Dave…

  • ‘Sun sea safe’ badge launched for tourism sector businesses

    ‘Sun sea safe’ badge launched for tourism sector businesses

    The Antigua and Barbuda Ministry of Tourism, Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA), and Antigua Barbuda Hotels and Tourism Association (ABHTA) has announced the tagline ‘Sun Sea Safe’ for the destination’s Covid-19 certification program.  ‘Sun Sea Safe’ will feature prominently on an attractive new badge created by the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority for tourism…

  • Antigua PM talks CoinGeek Live 2020 watch party experience

    Antigua PM talks CoinGeek Live 2020 watch party experience

    Antigua & Barbuda is gunning to become a global digital currency hub, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed. Browne talked to CoinGeek during a watch party held in the island nation for CoinGeek Live 2020, revealing his government’s efforts and how he believes the nation will benefit from blockchain integration. Antigua & Barbuda passed the Digital Asset Business…

  • US Embassy resumes routine tourist and business visa services

    US Embassy resumes routine tourist and business visa services

    The Consular Section of the United States Embassy in Barbados will resume routine tourist and business visa services in the B1/B2 visa category beginning Monday, Nov. 16, with the next available open appointments beginning on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Persons are asked to note that applicants residing outside of Barbados who wish to schedule in-person interviews,…

  • PM defends symbolic LIAT flight saying promotion received justifies cost

    PM defends symbolic LIAT flight saying promotion received justifies cost

    Prime Minister Gaston Browne has dismissed suggestions that the November 1 LIAT flight from Antigua to Dominica cost $150,000 and was a waste of money. The Independence Day flight was the first in six months for the Antigua-based airline after its entire fleet was grounded and almost all its employees at all levels laid off…

  • Lockdown in paradise: Antigua’s plea for visitors

    Lockdown in paradise: Antigua’s plea for visitors

    Dickenson Bay, Antigua – Osmilta Prince sits on a rock beneath a palm tree, her homemade mask covering her face. By her feet, is a basket of handmade shell bracelets and calabash bowls. Close by, a laminated sign reads: “Stay Apart 6 feet – or 9½ coconuts”. By this time of day, the 48-year-old single…

  • Opting out of CARICOM travel bubble could affect LIAT’s efforts to resume operations – Nicholas

    Opting out of CARICOM travel bubble could affect LIAT’s efforts to resume operations – Nicholas

    A number of countries are opting out of the travel bubble and news from St Johns is that it could affect LIAT’s intended recommencement of flights on November 08, 2020. It was last month that CARICOM heads of government agreed that they would allow persons traveling within CARICOM states to avoid weeks of quarantine once…

  • Wadadli Cargo plans to operate 737 aircraft by next year

    Wadadli Cargo plans to operate 737 aircraft by next year

    Antigua-based Wadadli Cargo plans to begin operations with a 737-800F and an ATR 72-200F in the second half of 2021, becoming Antigua and Barbuda’s only cargo carrier. The startup told Cargo Facts it has no plans to obtain its own air operator’s certificate (AOC), and will therefore hand the aircraft over to a CMI operator.…

  • PM: Change in corporate culture needed to boost LIAT’s efficiency

    PM: Change in corporate culture needed to boost LIAT’s efficiency

    Prime Minister Gaston Browne is of the belief that an adjustment to the corporate culture at regional airline LIAT will result in greater efficiency and increased sustainability going forward. The company has rebounded somewhat from the threat of liquidation and is currently in the midst of a restructuring project, aimed at returning the airline to…

  • Antigua Barbuda Tourism Authority wins gold for digital marketing campaign: ‘Your Space in the Sun’

    Antigua Barbuda Tourism Authority wins gold for digital marketing campaign: ‘Your Space in the Sun’

    The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority’s creativity during the Covid-19 pandemic and response to consumers growing demand for space, has been recognized and awarded by the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards. The Magellan ‘Travel Destinations’ Gold Award went to the Tourism Authority’s  destination marketing campaign ‘Your Space in the Sun” launched in July.  The Travel Weekly Magellan Awards…

  • Tourism sector feeling effects of COVID’s 2nd wave

    Tourism sector feeling effects of COVID’s 2nd wave

    The resurgence of the COVID-19 virus in the major tourism source markets for Antigua and Barbuda is already being felt in the local tourism sector. General Manager of the Blue Waters Hotel and former President of the Hotel Association, Alex De Brito, has reported that most hotels began to reopen from October 15 with the…

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]