Central Bank Of India To Help Review Micro-Finance Strategy

The Office of Private Sector Reform, the OPSR and the St. Lucia Development Bank are hosting officials of the Central Bank of India, who are here to review a Micro Finance Strategy being developed with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat. The Micro Finance Strategy is targeted at meeting the needs of micro enterprises throughout

St. Lucia, but with special focus on developing small businesses in rural communities.

Director of the OPSR Jacqueline Emmanuel says the Micro Finance strategy is being developed as part of an EU SFA programme to strengthen micro businesses particularly in the area of sourcing finance. The Commonwealth Secretariat agreed to a request to develop the Micro Finance Strategy and asked the Central Bank of India to provide expertise in refining the strategy.

The Chairman and Managing Director of the Central Bank of India, Mr. S Sridhar, who was in the region for last week's Commonwealth Heads meeting, took the opportunity to visit St. Lucia and brought along a delegation from the CBI. The CBI team will remain here until December 10th during that time they will meet with government officials and local business organisation in efforts to refine the Micro Finance Strategy.

Mr. Sridhar pledged to use the considerable experience of the 99 year old CBI to assist St. Lucia through the St. Lucia Development Bank in reducing poverty and generating employment. The SLDB has welcomed the intervention, with its Managing Director Jean Francois Sonson saying "we are very happy for the opportunity to tap into the experience of the Central Bank of India to see what best practices they have developed and to see how we can use the experiences to refine our products and perhaps to develop a new suite of products for our various stakeholders here in St. Lucia".

Source: Caribbean Business Report