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Virgin launches first-ever Departure Beach location in Barbados

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The Barbados tourism product got a major boost with the opening of the Virgin Holidays Departure Beach lounge at the Copacabana, Bay Street location on Saturday.

The investment, which is upwards of $1 million, is a partnership between Virgin Holidays, Copacabana and the Sun Group.

Copacabana remains open for business.

The departure beach provides a new experience for Virgin travellers who want to eliminate the wait time at the airport.

It provides an avenue for travellers to check-in and collect their boarding passes before making their way to spend the last few hours of their vacation soaking up the sun and spending time on the beach.

Welcoming the investment, Minister of Tourism Kerrie Symmonds said Barbados was “blessed” to have the first-ever Virgin Holidays Departure Beach lounge.

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“And we are also richly blessed because we have the association today with one of the most innovative and exciting companies on planet earth,” he added.

“The fact of the matter is, this is a glorious innovation and I am happy to be able to tell you that we already have 5,000 bookings for next year and this is day one. So it is this kind of partnership that is working for Barbados and it is because of this type of partnership we are now having 11 flights weekly,” said Symmonds.

He said Virgin Atlantic represented 42 per cent of the traffic coming to Barbados from the UK and he “suspect strongly that better will come”.

Pointing to the planned Virgin Galactic trips to space, Symmonds said he was proud that Barbados was working with a company that was on the cutting edge of travel and tourism.

“It is that kind of innovative thinking that allows us to be celebrating Departure Beach today, and I want to say to you all . . . that the value added to our tourism product is absolutely phenomenal,” he said.

Scores of local and international high flyers in the tourism industry turned up for the celebration at the picturesque location.

The swanky opening event also attracted a number of popular models and TV personalities from the UK.

The BBC Radio 1 DJ Maya Jama was joined by local studio director Keven Talma, who provided modern energetic music to complete the party mood.

Founder of Virgin Group Ltd Sir Richard Branson said he was proud of the work of the Virgin Holidays company, which he said had managed to increase Virgin flights to Barbados since its introduction some two decades ago.

“I am really proud of what they have been able to achieve since they set up many years ago,” said Sir Richard.

“A place like this is just the kind of thing Virgin would do and should do all the time – always innovating and creating something extra special for the people who love the Virgin brand,” he added.

Officials said the “big investment” was Virgin Holidays’ commitment to Barbados and the region.

Welcoming the new investment from the Virgin Group, Prime Minister Mia Mottley called on all Barbadians to continue to play their part in making Barbados “the cleanest, most friendly and warmest it can be”.

She added that coupled with the retraining of people, “Barbados will continue to glisten among the stars and that today will not just be a singular event, by being the first departure beach, but that we will continue to do like those characters on Star Trek – to go where no man has gone before.” – Barbados TODAY

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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]