SVG continues to play ‘catch up’ with rest of the world – Storm Gonsalves

“WE’RE ALWAYS playing catchup to those in more developed countries,” were the words of Storm Gonsalves last Thursday, August 8, 2024 as he spoke at the Youth Advisory Summit.

Gonsalves, the chair for the Business and Youth Entrepreneurship sector of the Council, addressed the challenges of utilising payment options such as PayPal in a developing country like St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“Right now in St Vincent, we are somewhat cut off from the global economy, but they are not cut off from us.” Elaborating, the businessman said that though Vincentians can use PayPal for online purchases, “if Calvert has a painting and he wants to set up an account using his own name or as a company, it’s not possible”.

He explained that individuals have found a way around this by establishing a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the United States. This setup enables them to swiftly access PayPal and other online payment services, facilitating transactions for economic activities in SVG through the US LLC.

“I can only say that if it’s possible in the US or any other country across the world, I don’t know why it’s not possible here…It is a huge problem facing young entrepreneurs, and they understand technology better than the generation before us. [With] the amount of information that is out there, the generations that come are just going to get smarter and smarter, and if we’re cut off from that, it will be very devastating to our economies in the long run.”

Gonsalves shared that his group focuses on five main themes to make doing business in SVG more efficient: business education and financial literacy; the ease of doing business; renewable energy; the environment and social responsibility; tourism; agriculture, and fisheries as a business; and banking, finance, and technology.

“Business and entrepreneurship touch every facet of our economy and society,” Gonsalves remarked. He acknowledged how challenging it is for the average young person to start a business considering their inexperience and low chances of getting approved for a loan. He mentioned solutions like grant funding, mentorship programmes, financial support, tax breaks, and legal assistance—all to tailor business-minded young people.

One area where he has a strong focus is renewable energy and the environment.

Gonsalves disclosed having dialogue with the St Vincent and the Grenadines Electricity

Services Limited( VINLEC), to identify the barriers impeding solar energy generation in SVG.

“Right now you look at your fuel surcharge on your electricity bill; it’s quite high, and we have this nuclear reactor in the sky called the sun that we can potentially produce 100% of our energy from.”

Considering the expenses associated with acquiring batteries for solar energy and the unpredictable weather conditions in SVG, Gonsalves suggested that opting for renewable energy could offer greater advantages to individual businesses.

“In most cases, it’s actually quite affordable, and it’s good for the business because if you can save money on your energy bill, you’re lowering the cost of the operation of your business. There are lots of appliances now that will actually measure their energy usage and tell you exactly how many kilowatt hours you’re using.”

Gonsalves explained that he was recently engaged with a local solar company promoting its services.

“I think there should be huge incentives from a policy standpoint,” he said, “ these companies should be getting major tax breaks for implementing it over a period of time.”

He highlighted that Barbados has significantly decreased import duties on electric vehicles, a move that St Vincent and the Grenadines has also adopted. However, he suggested a more aggressive approach towards similar policy adjustments in SVG.

The chair for business and youth entrepreneurship shared that SVG should look into setting environmental goals for the amount of energy the country anticipates it will use over a number of years and that it will highlight, “how we are going to mix that”.

“ Are we going to do all solar or a mix of solar and geothermal, natural gas? Whatever the case may be, we have to make that decision, and we have to stick to it.”