kevin greenidge : micro, small, and medium - sized enterprises are the backbone of our economy address by dr kevin greenidge, governor of the central bank of barbados, at a visit of the president and delegation of the inter - american development bank to the central bank of barbados, bridgetown, 13 december 2024. * * * i am deeply honoured to welcome president goldfajn and the esteemed idb delegation to the central bank of barbados. it is a privilege to host this important conversation today with both your team, the participating financial institutions, and the beneficiaries of the idb's impactful funding over the past decade. in this regard, the idb, as a leading multilateral organisation, has played a critical role in the development of local small and medium - sized businesses, particularly through its steadfast support of the central bank's enhanced credit guarantee fund ( ecgf ). for this, we remain deeply grateful and committed to our continued collaboration. micro, small, and medium - sized enterprises ( msmes ) are widely recognised as the backbone of our economy. the idb's funding has assisted our msmes to deal with the structural barriers to accessing finance, which is critical to the enhancement of their competitiveness, productivity, and resilience. these are all keep elements to the growth of msmes and provide a means to bolster their economic and financial contribution in small countries, like barbados. since 2015, the ecgf, which is a partial credit guarantee scheme that we at the central bank of barbados manage, was established with the support of united states dollar ( usd ) loan funding from the inter - american development bank to the government of barbados. this idb's assistance has contributed to msme's productive business investments in barbados by helping them to secure financing from domestic financial institutions. under the ecgf, the central bank issues partial credit guarantees of up to 80 percent of the total loan amount, which are intended to collateralise various categories of loans from eligible financial institutions up to us $ 1 million for a maximum period of 10 years. we have overseen two of these loan programmes from the idb to date. the specific objective of the first round of loan funding in 2015 was to boost the productivity and competitiveness of smes. the scope of the second loan programme in 2021, i. e., the global programme for safeguarding the productive sectors and employment, built on the momentum of the first by providing collateral support

? ” that award - winning scientist and environmentalist, dr. david suzuki, delivered next door. that theme remains of great significance because, as a small open economy, we are very vulnerable to the disastrous effects of fossil fuels. we are especially vulnerable to the environmental degradation that fossil fuels cause. global warning created by fossil fuels makes us susceptible to the hazards of climate change. a recent imf blog quoted scientists as warning that in the absence of mitigating actions, global temperatures may rise by more than four degrees celsius above pre - industrial revolution levels by the end of the century. this phenomenon will lead to inundation of low - lying island states and extreme weather events, the scientists predict. the attendant beach erosion would bode ill for our main industry tourism. indeed, we in the caribbean are among the top 25 most vulnerable nations exposed to shifting 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches weather patterns and global climate change. and we have already started to experience the extreme weather conditions about which scientists warn. we only have to flashback to dominica 2017 and recall how irma and maria wrecked our neighbour. those storms wiped out over 200 percent of dominica ’ s gdp in fewer than two days. that is an astronomical cost to pay and requires sustained coordinated global action to minimise the impact on small island economies like ours. and this is not the only price that comes along with our dependence on fossil fuels. high fuel prices impinge barbados ’ economic growth, stymie our competitiveness, and erode our foreign reserves, the lifeblood of our economy. in 2008, when oil prices hovered around us $ 90 per barrel, our balance of payments felt the impact. as the cost of fuel imports sky rocketed, shipping costs also rose, pushing up the price of imported goods. these increasing costs had an inflationary effect, while our valuable foreign exchange was used to help pay for these imports. high oil prices do have ripple effects for us. consider the savings in foreign exchange, therefore, if we were to move to renewables, harnessing the sun, wind, water, and now biological resources and organic waste. these savings have the potential to facilitate projects that stimulate greater economic activity and fuel growth. today, the bank is concerned about the current global uncertainty, created in part by geopolitical tensions, surrounding the price of oil. significant increases in the price of oil now that we are stabilising the economy represent a distinct downside risk that could offset our economic