Antigua Breaking News

Day: January 15, 2022

  • Expect more worrisome variants after omicron, scientists say

    Expect more worrisome variants after omicron, scientists say

    By LAURA UNGAR, Associated Press Get ready to learn more Greek letters. Scientists warn that omicron’s whirlwind advance practically ensures it won’t be the last version of the coronavirus to worry the world. Every infection provides a chance for the virus to mutate, and omicron has an edge over its predecessors: It spreads way faster…

  • CDC encourages more Americans to consider N95 masks

    CDC encourages more Americans to consider N95 masks

    (AP) — U.S. health officials on Friday encouraged more Americans to wear the kind of N95 or KN95 masks used by health-care workers to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Those kinds of masks are considered better at filtering the air. But they were in short supply previously, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

  • LETTER: The art of the sellout

    LETTER: The art of the sellout

    DEAR EDITOR: For the past week, the nation has been forced to watch the details of the unethical and unsavory relationship unfurl between Prime Minister Gaston Browne and the investors du jour Yida Zhang of Yida International Investments Antigua, LTD and Vijender Singh of Western Imperial Capital. The world continues to watch in disbelief as…

  • LIAT pilots pullback protest

    LIAT pilots pullback protest

    A three-day protest by former LIAT employees slated to start tomorrow in Barbados and across the rest of the airline’s network has been placed on hold. President of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) Patterson Thompson said Thursday night that he took the decision not to go ahead with the picketing at this time…

  • PM Browne wins appeal against former ambassador

    PM Browne wins appeal against former ambassador

    The Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal has overturned a decision of the High Court in which it had ruled that Prime Minister Gaston Browne had defamed former diplomat in the UPP administration, Dr. Isaac Newton. Newton made comments regarding the prime minister’s presentation in parliament and the prime minister responded, questioning Dr. Newton’s tenure as…

  • Antigua logs 75 new cases of COVID-19

    Antigua logs 75 new cases of COVID-19

    The most recent report received by the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment revealed seventy-five (75) new laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases in Antigua and Barbuda as of Tuesday 11th January, 2022 at 6pm. One hundred and forty-four (144) samples were processed. Seventeen (17) recovered cases were recorded. Consequently, the total number of persons with…

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]