Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)

Small Business Development Centers Program (SBDC)

Data

Status

Active

Start - End

2021 - 2024

Implementation

Social Networks

No information available

Since 2012, the OAS, with the financial support of the Permanent Mission of the United States and the technical support of the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has facilitated the transference and adaptation of the U.S. Small Business Development Center (SBDC) model in the CARICOM region to strengthen national MSME support initiatives. The program focuses on delivering standardized, high quality technical assistance by MSME support institutions to clients in a manner that would ultimately provide measurable results and economic impact. It aims to address some of the chronic deficiencies in the approaches to MSME development including limited access to finance for MSMEs; weak managerial and workforce skills; inability to exploit scale economies in production; imperfect information regarding market opportunities, new technologies, and methods of work organization.

The current phase of the program addresses the immediate needs of MSMEs navigating the post-COVID context with a focus on strengthening the MSME ecosystems through continued technical assistance to leverage the full potential of MSME contributions to the overall economy and with a particular focus on women and youth in the areas of improving financial literacy and access; resilience building through digital technologies and improved business practices. The program has been expanded to Brazil, Ecuador, and Uruguay.

Objectives

Adjusting the regulatory framework to more efficiently address the needs of Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)
Developing human capital for MSMEs
Fostering MSME competitiveness and entrepreneurial spirit
Developing regional MSME support structures
Developing public-private partnerships to support the development of the sector

Activities

Offering professional development opportunities to SBDC personnel, including observational learning visits to other established SBDC networks throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States, to expose SBDC directors and advisors to effective center operations, approaches, and best practices in similar country contexts
Maximizing the creation and capture of economic impact to evaluate centers’ performance
Developing a framework for the delivery of specialized services to respond to clients’ changing and evolving needs
Adapt and transfer of Small Business Development Centers Model to new program entrants

More Results

Results

Small Business Development Centers programs established in Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia (2014)

40 centers operating across CARICOM region providing a wide range of business development services to the Small Business Development Centers sector

Establishment of the Caribbean Network of Small Business Development Centers (2019)

90 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises completed 3 intensive accelerator programs geared toward tourism, creative, agro-processing industries

Beneficiary Countries