The Small Business Association (SBA) is clinging to hope that the long-promised regional ferry service will finally materialise in the new year, after years of delays and lingering concerns over financing that have kept the project from getting off the ground.
Chief Executive Officer of the SBA, Dr Lynette Holder, said the association became formally involved in the initiative several years ago, following discussions with the principals behind the service.
She revealed the SBA was identified as a key support agency for small firms seeking to trade across the region.
Holder explained that the role was outlined in a recent SBA annual report and was driven by concerns about Barbados’ narrow regional trade performance.
Holder said while the proposed Connect Caribe route did not initially focus on the OECS, the SBA supported the phased approach, which first identified Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname, with expansion to Saint Lucia and other OECS territories at a later stage.
She said the association agreed to function, through its subsidiary agency, as a logistics management coordinator to help small firms take advantage of the service.
According to Holder, the ferry was presented to the SBA as a multipurpose platform with trade as its primary focus.
“The ship that they had identified would facilitate trade, that was key,” she told Barbados TODAY on Monday, adding that it would also allow for the movement of business travellers and leisure passengers.
Holder explained that the SBA had already begun groundwork by identifying export-ready products and firms, including agri-processors, small manufacturers and service providers, as well as potential strategic partners in destination markets.
That preparatory work, she said, was carried out this year and the association had positioned the initiative as a priority for the new year.
“We have it on the front burner for 2026, as we open up the new year, to treat this as a priority,” Holder disclosed, noting that export development and sustainability form one of the four pillars of the SBA’s 2025–2028 strategic plan.
However, Holder was frank about the SBA’s main concern, stressing that it was not a lack of interest or readiness among small businesses.
“My concern isn’t so much the small firms, the supply, and even demand, in terms of the market. My concern is the system itself,” she said, while pointing to the length of time the project has been under discussion, tracing it back to the Caribbean Export Investment Forum and describing it as about “five years in the making”.
She said the SBA had consistently engaged with Connect Caribe chairman and chief executive officer. Ambassador Andre Thomas and his team, including hosting presentations to its membership and holding strategic discussions.
However, Holder maintained that financing remains a major stumbling block.
“My concern is the company that is going to administer the ferry service, getting the capital needed to make this a reality sooner rather than later,” Holder said.
She disclosed that the SBA’s most recent intervention came earlier this year, when the association facilitated discussions with the Caribbean Development Bank in an effort to fast-track funding. Despite ships having been identified and demonstrated, she said, capital constraints continue to delay progress.
“The ships look good and all that, but capital is an issue,” she said, adding that small businesses are nonetheless “ready for whatever opportunities that present”.
She explained that, as a pilot, the SBA identified firms already exporting, particularly in agri-processing and small manufacturing, as well as professional service providers who could use the ferry to travel within the region.
“We began the process of identifying firms,” Holder said, but stressed that the priority remains seeing the ferry system operationalised.
When contacted, Ambassador Andre Thomas confirmed that Connect Caribe is pressing ahead with plans to launch the service in 2026, while declining to be drawn on a specific timeline within the year.
“We have entered into a partnership agreement with a banking entity for the provision of the resources for the ferry service, so we are waiting for that to be concluded and for us to proceed,” Thomas said.
He confirmed that the project carries a total price tag of $50 million and will initially start with two vessels, with plans to expand the fleet to cover multiple routes.
“We’ve already identified boats and we are anticipating that we will be able to really launch the service in 2026. We already discussed it with the government of Barbados so they already know the routes,” Thomas noted.
He said infrastructure work had already begun and stakeholder engagement remains active, describing the process as complex and lengthy.
“It’s very clear to us why it has taken over 20 years for us to get another service because it’s like climbing Mount Everest; it’s a huge job. But we are near the top,” he said, adding that there remains strong support from various stakeholders.
Chairman of the BCCI Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee, Lalu Vaswani, also underscored the importance of the proposed ferry, arguing that it fills a critical gap in regional transport and trade logistics.
He said the service is necessary to promote intra-Caribbean trade, particularly given the high cost of air travel and the limited availability of shipping options outside large container vessels.
Vaswani noted that Barbados imports significant volumes of food items from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, and said the ferry could make it easier for small local exporters to participate in regional trade.
“It would help in terms of promoting smaller businesses to grow, because a lot of people do not have the capacity to sell a container, but they could sell smaller, like a pallet or two pallets,” he said.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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