Our move to Robinson Road and Key West Street serves as part of The Bank’s re-energization and reflects our commitment to ensuring equal access to finance for all Bahamians. During our opening ceremony, The Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Most Honorable Dr. Hubert Minnis through his comments sparked the initial conversation of hosting a town hall meeting to welcome the Bank to the community.
On Thursday, April 22, 2021 we hosted a town hall meeting at Christ the King Anglican Parish from 5:30 – 6:30pm. The livestream was also available on our Facebook Page courtesy of The Movi Group. The Competent Authority granted approval for 100 persons to attend the meeting. In total we had forty (40) members from the community & eighteen (18) staff members.
Mr. Dave Munroe served as the moderator for the event; and not only captivated the audience, but kept the crowd engaged as the program progressed. The opening prayer was led by Mr. Hinsey, followed by Welcome Remarks from Mr. Luther Smith, People’s Warden who gave remarks on behalf of the Rector. Mr. Sampson gave the official welcome remarks on behalf of The Bank, giving special mention to the $25 million available for new businesses this year. He also mentioned that “the Bahamas Development Bank is committed to supporting Bahamian industries to not just survive this pandemic but also to thrive because we know that opportunities still exist and that investing in Bahamians is the best thing that we can do right now to get us out of an economic slowdown.” This comment was well received by the audience.
Ms. Alicia Butler and Ms. Sumayyah Cargill presented on the Credit Operations and Strategic Development & Initiatives Unit respectively. Both ladies were able to highlight the roles of each department as well as talk about new opportunities and programs available including; cash based lending, the small ruminants program and leasing arrangements.
The questions and answers segment stimulated conversation amongst the audience and the team present. This allowed us to hear various concerns and answer questions, which brought clarity to the terms of the Englerston Community Grant and other opportunities for residents.
The meeting ended at 6:40pm. The audience members were served refreshments and given a branded reusable bag courtesy of the Bank. At this time, they were able to speak one-on-one with Credit & SDI representatives. They were very excited about the grant and eager to apply.
On Friday, April 23, 2021 an email was sent to all attendees thanking them for their support, we also attached the grant application and requirements document. As a result of the town hall meeting we’ve received a number of walk-ins as well as phone calls inquiring on how to apply and general information about the initiative.
