21 September, Basseterre, Saint Christopher (St Kitts)and Nevis – Small, micro, medium-sized businesses and individual investors are poised to benefit from a crowd-funding project organised by the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission (ECSRC) in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank, which will provide options and reap benefits for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union(ECCU).
Speaking on this week’s episode of ECCB Connects, Chief Executive Officer of the ECSRC, Alousia Faisal, and President and CEO of Dev Solutions Consulting, Dr Winsome Leslie, share details on this project.
Dr Leslie says, crowd-funding is raising money for one’s business from the public through the internet using a platform such like Kickstarter or Go Fund Me. She notes that anyone can participate in this programme where money can be raised in exchange for a reward or ownership in a company through shares or stocks. She adds that this particular type of crowd-funding is geared toward acquiring equity.
Faisal emphasises that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mandate of the Commission is to ensure there was a mechanism in place for small enterprises to have a platform to support their businesses. She adds that there are three broadcomponents of the project including the validation of the policy, the sensitisation of crowd-funding and the testing of platforms.
Dr Leslie points out that the week of 26 September is the date set for persons to go online to the website and register their interest. This session is open to a number of stakeholders including, but not limited to, entrepreneurs, investors, investment advisers and government institutions. Dr Leslie notes that this project, which runs from September 2022 until June 2023, will be a potential game-changer for the ECCUregion.
To view the full discussion, log on to the ECCB’s YouTube channel and Facebook Page: ECCB Connects.
