Antigua Breaking News

Category: Commentary

  • The Nicaragua Government has gone too far

    The Nicaragua Government has gone too far

    By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States.  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 views expressed are his own) The English-speaking Caribbean has…

  • When law enforcement lacks humanity!

    When law enforcement lacks humanity!

    By Dr Neals Chitan The departure lounge at the Robert L Bradshaw International Airport in St Kitts was quickly becoming a hive of disgruntled travellers on Monday, December 17, 2018, as a crippled Leeward Island Air Transport (LIAT) flight 313 sat totally incapacitated on the tarmac. As fellow travellers in this multi-national Caribbean mix, my…

  • Why silence about the Climate Conference in Poland?

    By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organisation 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 his own.) A statement may have been…

  • Scotiabank obligation for decades of profits

    Scotiabank obligation for decades of profits

    By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States.  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 views expressed are his own) A curious double standard…

  • The Caribbean: confronting its demons

    By Sir Ronald Sanders Had the meeting of CARICOM governments on the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) been the only event affecting the Caribbean in the first week of December, it would have been a week to celebrate.  But, it was also a week when global emissions of carbon dioxide reached such high levels that…

  • CARICOM must be active on Haiti

    By Sir Ronald Sanders Haiti continues to be an unsettled country politically.  Demonstrations against successive governments have become almost normal, and so too, tragically, are the deaths associated with them. No one should be surprised at the continuous unrest in Haiti.  It has been an impoverished country for too long, and it has been exploited by external…

  • A Caribbean Secretary-General for the OAS

    By Sir Ronald Sanders It’s time for a Caribbean Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States. Over the last 70 years, since its formation, the OAS has had 10 Secretaries-General and one Acting Secretary-General.   None have come from the Caribbean even though Caribbean countries started being members of the Organisation from its inception in 1948 (Haiti…

  • Coping with the OECD reality

    By Sir Ronald Sanders Demands of the rich man’s club, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), have once again created disarray in the Caribbean. It is a disarray to which Caribbean countries have contributed by their lack of a common and strong political response to the many impositions by the OECD on the…

  • Identity and dignity lost with the CCJ

    By Sir Ronald Sanders The referenda, held individually in Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada, on replacing the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on November 6, were lost for the same reason that Brexit succeeded in the United Kingdom. The governing political parties in Antigua and Barbuda…

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]