PHILIPSBURG–Qredits Microfinancing celebrated its 100th loan issued for the SSS islands St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba, “a milestone achievement,” on August 28.
The Qredits local team and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elwin Groenevelt marked the occasion with an event at Miss Lalie’s Commercial Center on Bush Road on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin and Economic Affairs Minister Stuart Johnson were amongst the government officials in attendance. Also in attendance were Chamber of Commerce representatives from Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten, Qredits coaches and clients.
Groenevelt congratulated the office’s 100th loan recipient, local entrepreneur Shamire Connor, who owns Fire Fit Gym which is set to open soon.
“Being able to get the opportunity to add more funds to my project was very important to me. Opening your own gym isn’t very easy, especially if you’re building a brand. Qredits gave me and others the opportunity to accomplish ideas that the local banks wouldn’t,” Connor said. “Qredits saw what was needed on the islands, and I hope for the future that more young entrepreneurs take advantage of this and become self-employed. I am glad to be a part of this special occasion as the 100th client.”
Qredits was originally set to open at the beginning of September, but ended up opening its doors just after Hurricane Irma. The focus was then adapted to assisting storm-damaged small businesses and new entrepreneurs with financing to jump-start their recovery and launch their companies.
The ongoing assistance and support of the Department of Economic Affairs and the Chamber of Commerce offices on each island allow Qredits to offer added value to the growth of entrepreneurship on the SSS islands. Qredits launched its soft loan programme in early 2018 with an interest rate of two per cent and a one-year grace period to further assist entrepreneurs.
“The response was overwhelming and the number of applications increased significantly, bringing on this achievement of over 100 funded businesses in under a year,” it was stated in a Qredits release.
Groenevelt is said to be “very happy” with the reaction from the public toward Qredits. “Qredits is really about helping entrepreneurs. After the devastation of the hurricane, the business community on the islands did not have much help with regard to funding. Through Qredits, especially with the soft loan programme, we were able to help so many businesses on St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius and we are very proud of that,” he said.
The local Qredits team plans to be even more active in the community, with more informative workshops, mentorship opportunities and funding even more businesses. Qredits has provided loans to businesses in multiple fields, including day-care centres, restaurants, construction companies, laundromats, foundations, retail stores, etc., and it hopes to do many more.
Anyone interested in Qredits can contact it via its Facebook page, via email at
st.maarten@qredits.nl or tel. 587-3427.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/80092-qredits-celebrates-100th-loan-for-sss-islands
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