Small businesses concerned over cost of finance
Commerce Minister Joey Hew tours CISBA offices in George Town with CISBA President Dawn McLean-Sawney
(CNS Business): The president of the Cayman Islands Small Business Association (CISBA) has said that financial institutions are setting up entrepreneurs for failure because of the cost of loans. This was one of a number of issues that Dawn McLean-Sawney raised with the new minister for commerce, Joey Hew, when he visited the offices recently.
McLean-Sawney said small businesses need better concessions on loans to make payments viable.
She told the minister that other difficulties that the small business sector faced included inadequate funding, too much red tape, securing venues to set up businesses, as well as challenges based on definitions of micro (1-3 employees) and small (4-10 employees) businesses in provision of employee benefits.
McLean-Sawney also said the small business sector needed more incentives, including a reduction in fees such as Customs and Trade and Business Licence fees, and encouragement for more women, especially single mothers, and retirees to be able to become small business owners.
After the visit Hew said it was an excellent opportunity to hear about the challenges entrepreneurs are facing.
“Government’s involvement, happily, does not end with merely providing annual grants to CISBA but also to follow their progress and jointly find ways to tackle and help find solutions to issues they face,” he said.
Hew, who is a former president of the CI Chamber of Commerce and a business owner, gave no indication whether he would be able to address the issues raised by McLean-Sawney, but he and his fellow Progressives spoke about their intention to help the small business community on the campaign trail.
CISBA, which currently has 120 members, was created to advocate for policies that are beneficial to local small businesses as well as to support and promote entrepreneurial spirit.
Category: Local Business, Small Business
Owning a successful small business in Cayman is a pipe dream. Sure, you can have one but it will only exist to pay govt fees, excessive costs for utilities and telecoms, rents, pension & health contributions. Then God forbid, should it need a Work Permit the cost to advertise (a futile waste of money) and those costs, not to mention time waiting in lines which results in loss of opportunity and productivity, it is too depressing to talk about. But why should we think the Progressives will care and intervene? All their peeps are set up with cushy jobs and connections. They will never feel the small people’s pain but to ignore it exists will only serve to usher in growing violent crime when the middle class goes the way of the Do Do bird.
Perhaps while talking about financial institutions you might want to think about the class action lawsuits in the states that are worth billions of dollars.
If you accept a credit card for pay the bank between 4 and 5% of the transaction. fair enough, the bank accepts some risk because they are extending credit to your customer allowing them to make the purchase.
Here some banks charge the same fees for debit cards. ZERO risk to the bank as they do not advance the funds unless the money is in the bank.
In a business with a 10% profit margin, the bank is your 50% partner with no risk on their part.
Its why they encourage everyone to use debit cards. Do your favourite small business a favour and pay cash.. Oh i forgot for a minute! Scotia started to charge you for depositing cash as well.