Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper - UNDP Barbados and the OECS ...

UNDP with funding from Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has
made available to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Credit Union a facility
referred to as “Micro-Start”, designed to provide soft credit to their members for the
start or expansion of micro and small businesses. This is to facilitate those members
who would otherwise find it extremely difficult to access funding from mainstream
credit institutions in the Country. The project is to be piloted in St. Vincent and The
Grenadines, and if successful is expected to be replicated among other nongovernmental
and private sector organisations in other territories of the OECS subregion.
Although the facilitation of credit is a critical and necessary component of the
enabling environment for MSEs it certainly is not a sufficient condition for ensuring
the long-term viability and sustainability of the sector. Equally important to the
creation of a favourable environment is a whole range of developmental assistance
services and supporting infrastructure. The Small Enterprise Development Unit
(SEDU) was established by government to provide some of these critical support
services to the MSE sector. Already the SEDU are providing assistance in areas such
as:
?? The preparation of business plans for accessing loans and other forms of
financing
?? Marketing plans and feasibility studies
?? Entrepreneurial training, technical advice and business counselling
At the macro level the SEDU is also playing a critical role in helping to devise a
policy framework for the sector. In this regard it is currently undertaking a national
micro and small enterprise survey to determine the precise needs of the sector and on
this basis determine and recommend the requisite legislative and policy framework
for the sector.
This I-PRSP recommends support of this initiative, and the utilization of findings
in subsequent poverty-focused MSE activities.
5.1.5 Accessing Dead Capital; Rationalizing the Squatter situation
“Dead Capital” may be defined as land, property and other assets that are not
properly titled and therefore cannot be utilized efficiently and effectively for capitalist
development.
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines land is the foundation of national development. Its
base is production, and as such ownership of land is equated to development,
employment, wealth, income, status and political power. Due to a number of
historical, economic and political reasons, a culture of land holding has grown up in
St, Vincent, which fits the above definition of “Dead Capital” – land not properly
Final SVG I-PRSP Revision June 2003
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