Antigua Breaking News

Category: Commentary

  • Wake up and smell the Chow Mein

    Wake up and smell the Chow Mein

    By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the U.S. and the OAS.  He is also a senior fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and at Massey College in the University of Toronto.   The view expressed are entirely his own) A television interviewer asked…

  • On the heels of COVID, Climate Change swings a wrecking ball

    On the heels of COVID, Climate Change swings a wrecking ball

    By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States.   He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto.  The views expressed are entirely his own)  The public health and…

  • Kenya’s President wants ‘steadfast leadership’ by Commonwealth Secretariat

    Kenya’s President wants ‘steadfast leadership’ by Commonwealth Secretariat

    By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States.   He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto.  The views expressed are entirely his own) It…

  • Sir Lester Bird – Not too big to right a wrong

    Sir Lester Bird – Not too big to right a wrong

    By Makeda Mikael As a business owner operating at V. C. Bird International Airport in General Aviation, my company Ports Services Ltd. was granted permission to establish a Fixed Base Operation on the Dis-Used Runway 10, namely, FBO 2000 Antigua Ltd. After only three months of operation, on March 3rd, 2003 investor Allen Stanford was…

  • Afghanistan Where God only comes to Weep

    Afghanistan Where God only comes to Weep

    There is a book, ‘Afghanistan where God only comes to Weep’ where the many years of turmoil have reduced the people of Afghanistan to terror and tears. And when one realizes that the US was the one who entered the war, training and arming the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden to chase out the Russians,…

  • Are people in the Caribbean becoming architects of their own destruction?

    Are people in the Caribbean becoming architects of their own destruction?

    By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States.   He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto.  The views expressed are entirely his own) The…

  • Hon. Sir Lester Bryant Bird, National Hero, Antigua & Barbuda

    Hon. Sir Lester Bryant Bird, National Hero, Antigua & Barbuda

    By Makeda Mikael And as he moved Antigua on to our Economic Development and our freedom into the world, our National Hero, Hon. Sir Lester Bryant Bird clearly deserves the fond nickname lovingly given to him by his constituents and the island at large, Giant Malt! A giant in his athletic 6’4″ frame he towered…

  • Anti-vaxxers’ attempted assassination of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves — Buried Caribbean democratic innocence with a ‘brick’?

    Anti-vaxxers’ attempted assassination of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves — Buried Caribbean democratic innocence with a ‘brick’?

    By Arvel Grant — Political and current Affairs Analyst When I read Reuters’ report of this tragic attempt on the life of the Vincentian Prime minister,  I was stunned by the negative global effect which this act of brutishness could have on our civilization and our leaders’ attempt to combat the COVID pandemic. Those: Politicians,…

  • Indigenous banks fail to Know Your Customer — KYC

    Indigenous banks fail to Know Your Customer — KYC

    Indigenous banks have time only for their expatriate customers whom they don’t know but lend them our grandparents meager savings (accumulated); they loan politically positioned persons, before they would even consider their ordinary customer’s desperate COVID needs. The banks don’t want your land and buildings as collateral, they want cash or guarantees of cash in…

  • In praise of a Black Caribbean woman

    In praise of a Black Caribbean woman

    By Sir Ronald Sanders CARICOM should be proud of the success of a Caribbean woman who was at the center of the effort to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. Dominican born Dr Carissa Etienne, the Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), deserves the greatest admiration and respect of…

  • CARICOM the only organisation commanding wide trust in Haiti’s crisis

    CARICOM the only organisation commanding wide trust in Haiti’s crisis

    By Sir Ronald Sanders Haiti was in a constitutional and political crisis before the assassination of its President Jovenel Moïse in the early hours of the morning of July 7.   That crisis has worsened. It is now explosive unless representatives of the main political parties collectively agree on an interim, broad-based government to prepare…

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]