Antigua Breaking News

Day: July 9, 2021

  • UNICEF to ship 220 million doses of J&J COVID-19 vaccine to African Union

    UNICEF to ship 220 million doses of J&J COVID-19 vaccine to African Union

    UNICEF said Thursday it has signed a deal to provide up to 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to African Union member states by the end of 2022. The child humanitarian group announced in a statement the agreement was reached with Belgium-based and J&J-owned Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. An additional 35 million…

  • Dollar Barrel initiative to continue until July 31

    Dollar Barrel initiative to continue until July 31

    The Dollar Barrel initiative will continue until July 31, 2021. The Gaston Browne administration says this will allow families abroad to dispatch sanitizing supplies, clothing and food to enter without paying customs duties and ABST on the imported items. Cabinet said that thus far, more than 18,000 barrels have arrived Antigua, and the value of…

  • Virgin Atlantic increases capacity from Caribbean routes

    Virgin Atlantic increases capacity from Caribbean routes

    §  Flight capacity between the Caribbean and The UK is increasing by nearly 300% §  Airline is bringing forward the restart of many Caribbean flights following additions to the Government’s “Green” list §  Virgin Atlantic will bring its flagship Airbus A350 aircraft to Barbados in August, the newest and largest aircraft in the fleet §…

  • Louisiana teen Zaila Avant-garde correctly spells ‘Murraya’ to win Scripps National Spelling Bee

    Louisiana teen Zaila Avant-garde correctly spells ‘Murraya’ to win Scripps National Spelling Bee

    Zaila Avant-garde understood the significance of what she was doing as she stood on the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage, peppering pronouncer Jacques Bailly with questions about Greek and Latin roots. Zaila knew she would be the first African American winner of the bee. She knew Black kids around the country were watching Thursday night’s…

  • Labour Department staff asked to leave after showing up to work in jeans

    Labour Department staff asked to leave after showing up to work in jeans

    Several staff members at the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Department were asked to go home on Friday morning after showing up to work in jeans against the wishes of the Labour Commissioner. According to staff at the department, Labour Commissioner Eltonia Rojas at a meeting on Thursday said, staff should desist from wearing jeans on…

  • 1 imported case of COVID-19 confirmed on Montserrat

    1 imported case of COVID-19 confirmed on Montserrat

    The Ministry of Health and Social Services today confirmed that one person on Montserrat has tested positive for COVID-19. The imported case was identified via routine testing during quarantine. The individual is presently in self- isolation and will remain there until recovery. Ministry of Health officials indicated that a nasopharyngeal sample (nasal swab) will be…

  • Amanaki John,19, charged for Big Creek Bridge stabbing

    Amanaki John,19, charged for Big Creek Bridge stabbing

    Amanaki John,19 of Golden Grove was charged by police for Causing Grievous Bodily Harm. He is accused of injuring 23 yrs old Alexta Francis of Golden Grove New Extension during an altercation at Big Creek on Tuesday 6th July. He is expected before the Court (Today) Friday. It was reported that around 3pm, both a…

  • Ministry of Tourism continues thrust to ensure training in COVID-19 protocols for hospitality workers

    Ministry of Tourism continues thrust to ensure training in COVID-19 protocols for hospitality workers

    The Ministry of Tourism and Investment in continuing with its thrust to ensure that tourism industry workers receive COVID-19 health and safety protocols training, successfully completed another training session yesterday (Thursday) with newly employed hospitality staff. Sustainable Tourism Officer within the Ministry of Tourism, Dr. Adelle Blaire said Thursday’s training session was focused on different…

  • Foreign hit squad killed Haiti’s president, police say

    Foreign hit squad killed Haiti’s president, police say

    BBC: A group of 28 foreign mercenaries, including retired Colombian soldiers, assassinated Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse earlier this week, police say. After a gun battle in the capital Port-au-Prince, 17 were detained, some at the house they were using, others after entering Taiwan’s diplomatic compound. Three suspects were killed by police and eight are still…

  • West Indies 14-member squad for 1st CG Insurance T20 International

    West Indies 14-member squad for 1st CG Insurance T20 International

    The Cricket West Indies Selection Panel has announced the 14-member squad for the first of the five match CG Insurance T20 International (T20I) Series against Australia. The match will be played under lights at the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium on Friday, July 9 with the first ball at 7:30pm (6:30pm Jamaica Time). Leg-spinner Hayden Walsh…

  • New West Indies “Rookie Camp” offers young players tools for development

    New West Indies “Rookie Camp” offers young players tools for development

    As part of Cricket West Indies (CWI) ongoing commitment to player development, the inaugural “West Indies Personal Development Rookie Camp” – was successfully held to serve both as an induction process and an information-sharing exercise for all players who were awarded regional franchise contracts for the first time. Addressing the players at the event were…

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]