Peer to Peer Lending and the Caribbean community

In the September issue I raised the question about Angel Investing. In my reading I came across an article on CNNMoney that talks about peer to peer lending. View the article here. The idea is that individuals join a network either as a lender or borrower. Borrowers are grouped by creditworthiness and the administrators of this system take funds that the lenders provide and allocate to borrowers for a small administrative fee of course. Small loans that traditional banks might not provide can be filled. Lenders get a return on their capital and borrowers often times pay a lower interest rate.

I wonder if this could work as well for our Caribbean owned small business. This would definitely help in the area of funding. The culture we share is unique enough and at times we as Caribbean folks can be distrustful and skeptical. Borrowers too will have to submit a profile according to the article and that can be a turn off we don't like our business "out on the street!" But I always maintain that we are innovative and enterprising and find ways to make things work. Perhaps with time we can marry the innovation we possess with new ways of doing business so that we can take Caribbean entrepreneurship to the next level. And perhaps something like this could work.

Email Mmaxwell.cbdigest@gmail.com to obtain the September issue of the Caribbean Business Digest.

September Issue Preview

The September issue promises to be interesting and insightful. The feature article highlights Marlon Hill, Esq. who is now the Jamaican Diaspora representative for the Southern United States. He talks about his plans for the Diaspora and his radio show Caribbean Crossroads. Hill is the co-founder of the Miami law firm delancyhill, PA. See excerpt below.

Also in this issue:

- An interview with the president of the Greater Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Tanya Ragbeer who talks about the role of the chamber in helping Caribbean businesses in the South Florida area.

- Architect turned Chef Hugh Sinclair, executive chef and owner of Chef Irie Spice tells his story about switching careers and the business of being a personal chef.

- Truck Driving: Caribbean drivers talk about their life on the road.


Excerpt from Marlon Hill feature…

“The role of the Diaspora is to help in the understanding of ourselves as a community and to preserve culture. This is more critical in the case of children born of Jamaican parents here in the United States. Failure of the Diaspora to play an effective role will result in an erosion of the culture and a loss of identity.

According to Hill the show Caribbean Crossroads “is a cross road of politics, culture and community affairs and a reflection of things that are important and will improve the quality of life of the listener”. He aims to inform and entertain and provide information that will have practical application and motivation to families and businesses. This is something that Hill can personally relate to….”

See entire article in September issue of the Caribbean Business Digest. Request a copy by sending an email to MMaxwell.cbdigest@gmail.com.

Caribbean Business Digest - Valuable resource!

This post is why I started the Caribbean Business Digest in the first place. Quick flashback: When I had the initial idea of the magazine, a friend told me that if the magazine helped one person then the magazine would be a success.

Well, I had a conversation today with a budding entrepreneur who is well on his way to starting his own small business. While I won't comment on the nature of the venture itself, I was pleased that he is in the process of using some of the resources from an article in the last issue. The issue contained a feature on the Small Business Development Center at Florida Atlantic University which is a resource that provides advice, planning and training events and seminars for business owners.

Of course, I felt really good at hearing this. This meant that the magazine is proving to be helpful in identifying sources of assistance to business people. That is one of the basic tenets of my young magazine. Of course, this gives me all the more reason to believe that this venture will prove successful.

To get the latest copy of the Caribbean Business Digest, send an email to MMaxwell.cbdigest@gmail.com

Business Networking Events in Palm Beach

As part of the Caribbean Business Digest's strategy, I am seeking to form alliances with various business and social organizations that play a pivotal role in furthering the Caribbean culture and interests. My research has lead me to realize that there is no business group in the Palm Beach area that catered to the Caribbean business community. So I am looking to organize a business networking event with the aim of bringing the Caribbean business community together in the Palm Beaches. It is my belief that the area is primed for such an activity and this type of event would aid in the overall development of the Caribbean community. Additionally, this would be a good launching pad for the magazine as well.

Recently I met a young lady named Gillian, from Trinidad who shared the same view so I will be looking forward to working with her in the next few weeks to see if we can get this off the ground. The Greater Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce is seeking to incorporate the Palm Beaches in their activities so hopefully we can coordinate our efforts in this project.

In addition, I made contact with a social organization, Jamaicans of the Palm Beaches which is in Palm Beach county. I am hoping we can form an alliance with this group to see what help they could offer with this project. Even though this is a social group, I hope we can find some middle ground where this project could be beneficial to all parties involved. While it is early days yet and there I much work to be done, I am hopeful. At the very least I hope this group will play a part in the magazine.

I was also made aware of another organization in Palm Beach called Caribbean Americans for Community Involvement. I am looking to from alliances with them as well. Organizations such as these are vital to the development of the community within which we live and their support is vital to the development any business networking in the area.