NEIL
HARTNELL INTERVIEWED MARK A. TURNQUEST
SEPTEMBER 2012
#Tribune
Business Editor
#A
leading small business consultant told Tribune Business he has “lost at least
50 per cent” of his client base over the last three years, as he urged
potential microlenders to focus on the technology, manufacturing and creative
sectors.
#Mark
Turnquest, principal of Mark A. Turnquest Consulting and a BAIC Board member,
pointing to 16 business clients who wanted to expand but could not due to an
inability to obtain financing, said no new Bahamian entrepreneurs or small
businesses were replacing those who had been lost during the recession.
#Praising
Progressive Consumer Services and Transfer Solutions Providers (Mango) for
their renewed focus on the microfinance and lending market, Mr Turnquest said
credit advanced to small businesses must be linked to job creation and cover
more than just start-up costs.
#“I’m
so happy, so grateful to Mango and Progressive for thinking about small people,
because right now the banks are not willing to lend money,” Mr Turnquest told
Tribune Business.
#“Right
now, we need it, and once we have it you will see a lot of businesses popping
up that have the potential to hire a lot of people.
#“I
have lost at least 50 per cent of my client base over the last three years
because they’ve gone out of business, and the new ones and entrepreneurs are
very few and far between right now because they can’t get the money.
#“I
can produce a great business plan for my clients, but if they can’t get the
financing, it’s no go. If they do not get the money, I am useless. I can make
them business ready, but because they don’t have the financing I have a very
low rate of success with new entrepreneurs. That’s how the market is. The
cupboard is bare when it comes to business financing.”
#With
the recession, unemployment and a high level of non-performing loans making
commercial banks especially cautious on business lending, Mr Turnquest said
innovative entrepreneurs were having a particularly hard time.
#“I
have a lot of customers who have innovative businesses, but the banks say
they’re too risky because they are ‘out-of-the-box’ type ideas,” he added.
#“They
can’t seek financing because their risk profile is higher than normal....
#“I
have 16 businesses wanting to expand in creative segments such as food processing
exporting. That’s a major multi-million dollar agricultural sector where
everything is done under one roof.”
#Suggesting
that the private and public sectors combined needed to create a net 700 new
jobs every month for the next three years to get the unemployment numbers down
to a respectable level, Mr Turnquest said micro and small business lending
needed to be tied to the use of technology and alternative energy by the
borrower, plus job creation.
#And
he argued that the sums advanced by lenders needed to be at least
$25,000-$30,000 to make a meaningful difference. If credit was limited, it
would be “wasted” on start-up costs and “not be beneficial in the long-run”.
#“Spread
the costs over a lot of people and give them a chance,” Mr Turnquest argued.
#“I
would like them [Mango and Progressive] to focus on technology, manufacturing
and the creative industries. They are seriously underserved in the marketplace,
and they could provide a lot of jobs.
#“They
[Progressive and Mango] have to be comprehensive and want to serve every high
risk business.”
#Noting
that the Bahamas had lost at least two percentage points in agriculture’s share
of Bahamian GDP, which had fallen from 5 per cent to 3 per cent, Mr Turnquest
urged his countrymen to invest in local businesses.
#“We
need domestic investment most importantly - Bahamians need to invest in
domestic businesses,” he told Tribune Business.
#“I’m
going to sit down and talk with the Mango people to show what the position is
in the market, and my client base. We also need the small business community to
up their game in terms of transparency and accountability.”
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