Bridgetown -- March 14, 2009 -- There is a move afoot to establish a National Research and Science Centre to create novel business ideas and to improve the economic returns from the small business sector.  Prime Minister, David Thompson, gave this undertaking recently as he reiterated Government’s pledge to allocate additional resources to strengthen the sector.

He made these observations while delivering the feature address at the launch of the FINPYME Caribbean Programme at Hilton Barbados, Needhams Point, St. Michael. FINPYME is a Spanish acronym which means Innovative Financing for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

While acknowledging the link between research, science, technology, and innovation and the development of SMEs, Mr. Thompson said the centre “will become the catalyst in promoting business development in areas such as alternative energy”.

He pointed out that: “With this positioning, where research, science and technology are at the centre of this model, it is envisaged that the sector would evolve to become a ‘hot bed’ for innovation.”

He further added that:  “Customers are looking for new solutions.”  However, he noted “that this can only happen, where research drives information and where the application of this information supports innovation among businesses that will influence the sustainability and competitiveness of current SMEs and the creation of new and innovative small businesses.”

In embracing the FINPYME concept, the Prime Minister also alluded to additional efforts by Government to reduce duplication and to rationalise the number of funding arrangements that had been created to subsidise the sector. “While these funds had good intentions, they often duplicated each other and created confusion within the sector. The intention is not to lessen the access and availability of funding, but to remove the frustration associated with being shuffled from one entity to another, to secure financing,” he said.