Antigua Breaking News

Category: World News

  • Barbara Walters, trailblazing U.S. journalist and creator of The View, dead at 93

    Barbara Walters, trailblazing U.S. journalist and creator of The View, dead at 93

    Barbara Walters, the intrepid U.S. interviewer, anchor and program host who led the way as the first woman to become a TV news superstar during a network career remarkable for its duration and variety, has died. She was 93. ABC broke into its broadcast to announce Walters’s death on air Friday night. “She lived her…

  • Former Pope Benedict XVI dies at 95

    Former Pope Benedict XVI dies at 95

    Former Pope Benedict XVI has died, aged 95, almost a decade after he stood down because of ailing health. He led the Catholic Church for fewer than eight years until, in 2013, he became the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415. Benedict spent his final years at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery within…

  • Making pig livers humanlike in quest to ease organ shortage

    Making pig livers humanlike in quest to ease organ shortage

    This is a pig liver that’s gradually being transformed to look and act like a human one, part of scientists’ long quest to ease the United States’ transplant shortage by bioengineering replacement organs. The ghostly form floating in a large jar had been the robust reddish-brown of a healthy organ just hours before. Now it’s…

  • Pope Francis says former pope Benedict ‘very sick,’ asks for prayers

    Pope Francis says former pope Benedict ‘very sick,’ asks for prayers

    Former pope Benedict, 95, who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, is “very sick,” his successor Pope Francis said on Wednesday. “I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the church,” Francis said in a surprise…

  • More snow in store for Buffalo after blizzard ‘for the ages’

    More snow in store for Buffalo after blizzard ‘for the ages’

    Storm-battered Buffalo braced Tuesday for fresh snow while still striving to recover from an epic blizzard that killed at least 34 people, stranded others in cars for days and shuttered the city’s airport. The National Weather Service predicted that as much as 2 inches (2.5 to 5 centimetres) of snow could fall Tuesday in Erie…

  • South Korea ends ban on imported sex dolls

    South Korea ends ban on imported sex dolls

    South Korea has formally ended a ban on the import of full-body sex dolls, ending years of debate over how much the government can interfere in private life. Although there are no laws or regulations banning the import of sex dolls, hundreds and perhaps thousands have been seized by the customs, which cited a clause…

  • Winter Storm: Americans and Canadians face mass outages on Christmas Day

    Winter Storm: Americans and Canadians face mass outages on Christmas Day

    More than one million Americans and Canadians are facing Christmas Day without power as a massive winter storm continues to pummel North America. A bomb cyclone, when atmospheric pressure plummets, has brought snow, strong winds and freezing temperatures. Nearly 250 million are affected, and at least 19 deaths have been linked to the storm that…

  • King Charles pays tribute to late mother, champions Elizabeth’s ‘faith in people’ in 1st Christmas address

    King Charles pays tribute to late mother, champions Elizabeth’s ‘faith in people’ in 1st Christmas address

    King Charles paid tribute to his late mother Queen Elizabeth in his first Christmas address as monarch, championing her belief in community and those who embrace it in trying times. “Christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones,” Charles said from the St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.…

  • Canadian PM, the family, headed to Jamaica for weeklong vacation

    Canadian PM, the family, headed to Jamaica for weeklong vacation

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Jamaica after Christmas for a one-week vacation with his immediate family. The Prime Minister’s Office says Trudeau will remain in constant contact with Ottawa during the trip and continue to be briefed and updated on issues. The Prime Minister’s office also said it checked with the federal ethics…

  • Pele’s family gathers at hospital in Sao Paulo

    Pele’s family gathers at hospital in Sao Paulo

    Family members of Brazilian soccer great Pele are gathering at the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo where the 82-year-old global icon has been since the end of November. Doctors said earlier this week that Pele’s cancer had advanced, adding the three-time World Cup winner is under “elevated care” related to “kidney and cardiac dysfunctions.”…

  • FIFA investigating Bae’s ‘undue access’ at World Cup

    FIFA investigating Bae’s ‘undue access’ at World Cup

    FIFA is investigating how celebrity chef Salt Bae and a number of other people gained “undue access” to the pitch at the end of the World Cup final in Qatar. Salt Bae, the Turkish chef whose real name is Nusret Gokce, was pictured holding and kissing the World Cup trophy while celebrating with Argentina players…

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]