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Education, Sports and Creative Industries Minister seeks new educational and sports partnerships in the UK

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The Minister of Education, Sports and the Creative Industries, the Honourable Daryll Matthew, has participated in a series of meetings organised by the High Commission with various educational and sporting institutions in the United Kingdom.

The engagements sought to advance opportunities for Antigua and Barbuda following the under 19 cricket team’s inaugural summer tour of the UK. The sporting institutions visited were directly involved in the cricket team’s tour and expressed interest in developing a deeper relationship with Antigua and Barbuda.

Minister Matthew, accompanied by High Commissioner Karen-Mae Hill, met with two of the United Kingdom’s most outstanding educational and sporting institutions. At the Harrow School, meetings were held with Johny Marsden, Mathematics Master and Master in Charge of Cricket, and Natalya Silcott, Mathematics Master and Awards Registrar.

The Harrow School has proposed two funded placements for young Antiguan and Barbudan cricketers to spend a term at the school from April to June 2024.  The selected cricketers (one aged 13 and the other aged 14) will be immersed in academic studies while training and playing cricket with the Harrow School Cricket Club. Harrow is one of the UK’s most prestigious schools renowned for its first class sports programmes and academic rigour.

It has educated several Nobel prize laureates including Sir Winston Churchill. The selection process will be led by Senator Shenella Govia and supported by the Harrow School.

The second meeting was held with Director of Sport Richard Wheater and Senior Performance Programme Manager at Loughborough University. Loughborough University is ranked in the top 10 of UK universities.  It is recognised as the best university in the UK for sports. Minister Matthew explored opportunities for elite athletes from Antigua and Barbuda to secure scholarships to the University.

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He also discussed the possibility of developing bespoke training programmes initially  for football and cricket coaches employed by the Ministry of Sport to further develop their technical capacity.

The meeting also discussed a planned cricket tour to Antigua and Barbuda in March 2024 of a Loughborough University cricket team. The Antigua and Barbuda under 19 team spent a week at the University in August and played their first fixture against a Loughborough University X1.

Meetings were also held with Hertfordshire County Cricket Club (HCCC) and the ACE Programme. These meetings will continue as plans to develop an exchange and capacity building programme for players and coaches are discussed.

The ACE programme seeks to identify and introduce African and Caribbean players to cricket.  An invitation has been extended to the ACE programme to tour Antigua and Barbuda in 2025. ACE was represented by Chevy Greene, Director of Programmes and HCCC by its CEO Ian Fletcher and Gulfraz Riaz, Equalit, Diversity and Inclusion Officer.

In a shift away from sport, the Minister met with the founders of Caribbean Elective, Sergio Fedee and Harry Spear. Caribbean Elective is a non-profit organisation that provides UK college and university students with UK government funded internship opportunities around the world. Since its launch in 2016, over 3000 UK students have travelled to St. Lucia where they participated in several programmes on the island to include working in the local hospitals and with the Legal Aid Department.  Antigua and Barbuda will be the second and newest Caribbean country added to Caribbean Elective programme. The first students will visit the island in February 2024.

Minister Matthew noted that the under 19 cricket tour was not planned to be a one off, box ticking exercise.  He noted that the tour “was designed to expose our cricket players and administrative staff to playing cricket in different conditions. It was also designed to identify new development partners.  In both regards, this first tour was a huge success. The Government looks forward to the second tour in summer 2024”. Minister Matthew also commended High Commissioner Hill and her office for partnering with his Ministry and for leveraging its diplomatic presence in the UK to foster and develop new opportunities for the people of the country. More information on the specifics of these programmes will be released by the Ministry of Education, Sports and the Creative Industries in the coming months.

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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]