Antigua Breaking News

Category: Regional News

  • Royal Family hit by new payout demands over slave trade links

    Royal Family hit by new payout demands over slave trade links

    King Charles’s backing for research into links between the monarchy and slavery risks fuelling calls for Britain to pay compensation, critics warned last night. Buckingham Palace yesterday announced it was cooperating with a landmark study into the monarchy’s involvement with the transatlantic slave trade and said the King took the issue ‘profoundly seriously’. The research…

  • PM Gonsalves speaks on LIAT and severance pay for former workers

    PM Gonsalves speaks on LIAT and severance pay for former workers

    (Loop News) — Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, has responded to concerns regarding the issue of severance for former employees of LIAT (1974) limited. This follows issues raised by the St Vincent LIAT Workers Union in a letter published by SEARCHLIGHT in last weekend’s issue where it expressed dismay over the lack of concern, lack…

  • Jamaican man gets 3 years for knowingly infecting UK woman with HIV

    Jamaican man gets 3 years for knowingly infecting UK woman with HIV

    A Jamaican man has been sentenced to three years imprisonment in the United Kingdom for knowingly infecting a woman with HIV. A Chester Crown Court handed down the sentence against Jamaican-born Jermaine Scott, 39, on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm. Scott was reportedly diagnosed with the potentially deadly virus in 2005…

  • Jamaica looking for closer relationship with Africa

    Jamaica looking for closer relationship with Africa

    Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has called for closer relationships between Africa and the Caribbean saying it would provide “a wonderful opportunity for a reverse Diaspora experience”. Speaking at the African Tourism Investment Summit, which is a part of Africa Travel Week, Bartlett said that he believes that “we, from the new world, can give…

  • US customs agents seize drugs, nab suspects in Caribbean Sea

    US customs agents seize drugs, nab suspects in Caribbean Sea

    (CMC) – The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency says law enforcement intercepted a vessel in the Caribbean Sea transporting 3,051 pounds of cocaine and arrested three non-citizens from Venezuela. CBP said the arrests and seizures took place near Palmas de Mar, off Puerto Rico’s eastern coast and that the estimated value of…

  • Union wants severance payment for LIAT workers in St Vincent

    Union wants severance payment for LIAT workers in St Vincent

    The union representing former employees of the cash-strapped regional airline, LIAT, has described as “unconscionable” the failure of the St Vincent and the Grenadines government to deal with the matter of severance payment as well as issue an official response to the collapse of the airline three years ago. President of the LIAT Workers Union…

  • Man in Puerto Rico steals ambulance that came to pick him up after accident

    Man in Puerto Rico steals ambulance that came to pick him up after accident

    (AP) — Police say that a man who was involved in a car accident Monday in Puerto Rico’s capital fled the scene in an ambulance that had arrived to help him. Authorities say police then pursued him but only found the abandoned ambulance and not the suspect. The accident occurred Monday in San Juan on…

  • 2023 hurricane season will be near the historical average with 11-15 named storms

    2023 hurricane season will be near the historical average with 11-15 named storms

    AccuWeather meteorologists recently put the final touches on their initial forecast for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, and they are emphasizing that preparations should begin in earnest even though the official start date is two months away. Mother Nature threw a bit of an atmospheric curveball in 2022 despite the presence of a moderate to strong…

  • St. Kitts and Nevis’ economic growth rebounded strongly in 2022, IMF says

    St. Kitts and Nevis’ economic growth rebounded strongly in 2022, IMF says

    In its latest report on the economic health of St. Kitts and Nevis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the Federation’s economy continues to rebound despite global hiccups post-COVID-19. “St. Kitts and Nevis’ economic growth rebounded strongly in 2022 despite global headwinds. GDP is estimated to have grown by 9 percent in 2022 after…

  • InterCaribbean Airways increases service to Dominica

    InterCaribbean Airways increases service to Dominica

    The Ministry of Tourism is pleased to announce the expanded flight schedule to service Dominica and the rest of the Caribbean. On March 15, InterCaribbean held its maiden voyage with its ATR aircraft to Dominica. An official ceremony was held to mark the event which included a water cannon welcome symbolic of the inaugural flight…

  • US increases visa processing fees for Caribbean visitors

    US increases visa processing fees for Caribbean visitors

    (CMC) — The United States Department of State on Tuesday published a Final Rule regarding increases to certain non-immigrant visa application (NIV) processing fees for Caribbean and other visitors. The increases, published Tuesday in the US Federal Register,  will become effective on May 30, 2023. The State Department said the fee for visitor visas for…

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]