Sign In
Sign In
Scotia Group CEO Shares Business Tips
Caption 1: Preston Haynes from Forever Sweet; Mark Williams from Elite Leaders International, Patsy Latchman Atterbury, Scotiabank's VP Retail, Suejen Haynes from Forever Sweet, Stephen Gibson from Store-to-Door Jamaica, Trudy-Ann Mulgrave from Made by Trudes, Kareen Cox from PSOJ, Shauna-Kaye Whitter from Kay-Anne's Collections, Tracy Lacroix from the PSOJ, David Smith from Smith Warner, Jacqueline Sharp, President and CEO Scotia Group, and Christopher Reckord, Chairman of the PSOJ's Membership Committee.
Caption 2: Jacqueline Sharp (l), President & CEO Scotia Group, share a laugh with the Christopher Reckord (r), Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) just after presenting to a group of ten entrepreneurs as part of the PSOJ Mentorship Dinner bi-monthly event. Looking on is Patsy Latchman Atterbury (c), Scotiabank's Executive Vice President Retail.
Scotiabank President and CEO, Jacqueline Sharp, had the awesome responsibility to provide guidance to ten young entrepreneurs at an intimate dinner last Thursday, November 12. She was guest presenter at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica's (PSOJ) bi-monthly mentorship dinner held at the Spanish Cour
Sharp spoke on a number of topics related to operating successfully in business and used the opportunity to share varied stories to reiterate specific points. Of key importance to the discussion what how to become bankable, and get better access to loans.
According Sharp "a business is bankable if it can obtain all or a majority of the financing it needs from a commercial lender". On becoming bankable, she spoke to the 5 'C's considered most important when a bank is contemplating approving a loan. The initial focus is on character- banks don't just look at numbers, they need to know you are being honest and upfront. There is also capacity – will you be able to generate enough cash to repay the loan; collateral – your guarantee, usually real estate, should there be impairments to cash flow; and capital. The final 'C' is condition and that includes the overall economic climate and external environment surrounding the bank and the business firm, as well as the intended purpose of the loan.
She also shared key leadership attributes vital to engendering good business practices including communicating effectively, remaining humble and the importance of surrounding yourself with a good reliable team of support.
Patsy Latchman Atterbury, Executive Vice President Retail at Scotiabank was also on hand to answer a number of questions poised on accessing loans, including 'how SME's can get more support' and 'what accommodations that can be made for online entities'.
Latchman Atterbury used the opportunity to speak to varied loan options that exist through the bank and its associates. Reference was also made to a number of capacity building programmes that Scotiabank has developed primarily to offer support to young entrepreneurs including the recently revamped Scotia Vision Achievers that offers 24 businesses an opportunity to be trained in varied business functionalities by Action Coach, Marcia Woon Choy.
Entrepreneurs were also encouraged to properly prepare when applying for a loan. "Preparation of detailed business plans are of paramount importance", they were advised. "Adequate internal systems and reporting capabilities are essential, so that you can produce meaningful financial information" she continued. Based on this directive, concern was raised regarding creating business plans. Ms. Latchman Atterbury spoke to the tools available on the Scotiabank website that provides guidance and includes a business plan template.
There was a lot of enthusiasm and discussion in the room from the ten participants, who were happy to get an opportunity to share in this unique one-on-one discussion with the Scotiabank team. was also spoke about seeing a proper business plan – people not sure – website business plan template. In the end key takeaways were to ensure business sustainability, to create strong teams and to properly prepare when coming in to request a loan.
About Scotia Group Jamaica Limited (SGJL)
Scotiabank has been in Jamaica since 1889 and is the premier financial institution in the country with just over 2,000 employees and 35 Branches Island wide. SGJL is a subsidiary of Scotiabank (Canada) and offers a diverse range of products and services including personal, commercial, and small business banking, wealth management, insurance, and mortgages. SGJL is an award winning institution having been named on numerous occasions as the Bank of the Year and Best Bank in Jamaica by international financial publications – the Banker, Latin Finance, Euromoney, and Global Finance magazines. SGJL has JMD$ 414 billion in assets (as at January 31, 2015). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com/jm.