BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (GIS) – Government of Barbados will revamp and restructure its 45-year-old developmental financing agency, FundAccess, by 2026, offering new products and services to meet the needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Minister of energy and business, senator Lisa Cummins, made this assertion while addressing the launch of the Innovation Growth Market (IGM) 200 for Barbadian entrepreneurs at the Hilton Barbados, Needhams Point, St. Michael, on Tuesday. The Innovation Growth Market is aimed at supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses and is expected to connect innovation with investment, providing access to equity, loans and partnerships.

Minister Cummins said if commercial banks and the commercial sector were not going to restructure their operations to meet the needs of MSMEs, then government has to do it. The Minister further added that outdated lending mechanisms no longer served a purpose to modern small and medium-sized enterprises.

“And so at 45 in 2026, there must be a new-look FundAccess. It has to be, and it is being, as we speak, deconstructed and reconstructed to meet the needs of our MSMEs. If the commercial banks and, commercial sector are not going to restructure their operations to meet your needs, we, as the government, must do so.

“And so, FundAccess is going to be positioned into a new and revamped, modern FundAccess. We need to be looking at extended loan terms, strengthening repayment, lengthening repayment horizons, building those community financing partnerships alongside our credit unions and the cooperatives,” senator Cummins stated.

The minister added that there was a gap in business development support in Barbados and government would be looking at how it will pair financing with business development“at an accelerated level” for businesses. This, she noted, would be one of the mandates of the revamped FundAccess next year.

Minister Cummins said direct pathways to commercial banking must also be created. She added that government was collaborating with the University of the West Indies' Cave Hill School of Business, which had already submitted a draft implementation strategy for an MSME roadmap.

“And in that programme, we have brought the commercial banks to the table, along with Trust Loans, along with FundAccess to make sure that, as we move from Trust Loans to FundAccess, there must be an equal pathway for the commercial banks and the credit unions also to be able to see a business that has potential...,” she noted, as she encouraged the financial sector to bank on the future of MSMEs.

Minister Cummins said the Innovation Growth Market gave businesses access to some of the region's most dynamic enterprises in areas such as renewable energy, digital services, creative industries and sustainable tourism.

The minister added that she was looking forward to Barbados delivering the following: a fully operational innovation world market; a digital business portal for all enterprise services that is already underway at Business Barbados; an MSME innovation and research fund; a supplier development programme linking small firms to bigger opportunities; a restructured fund that will take the lead on all MSME financing and a reformed credit framework.

“Financial institutions led by our own FundAccess will provide you with confidence. Investors at home and abroad will provide the capital. Development partners will bridge the gap. Entrepreneurs, especially our youth, will guide the end or drive the energy that pushes it forward.“This is not a hand-up economy. This is a hand in hand, hand in glove, moving in a partnership economy built on partnership, purpose and patience. The Innovation Growth Market is our bridge for resilience to scrape to scale, from ambition to achievement. Barbados is ready, are you? From your response and turnout here today, I'll say you are,” minister Cummins stated.

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