Foreign Minister Francine Baron is calling on the OAS to serve as a Development Finance Hub for SIDS

​Foreign Minister Francine Baron is calling on the OAS to serve as a Development Finance Hub for Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
 
Speaking at the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) last week, Dominica's Foreign Minister suggested at a panel discussion on Integral Development and Prosperity in the Hemisphere, that the OAS follow the footsteps of the commonwealth in creating a Development Finance Hub to SIDS.
 
She says this hub would provide the necessary technical input which SIDS lack in order to capitalize on financing made available for further development.

​Meanwhile, Baron says the financial challenges faced by the OAS should not deter the organization from playing a role in leveraging its resources through partnerships among member states. 

According to Minister Baron, the two main challenges faced for small businesses development in the region are, limited access to affordable financing and the lack of adequate technical capacity.

Speaking at a panel discussion on Development in the Hemisphere in Mexico last week, Baron said the OAS has provided assistance to some CARICOM countries, to implement US Small Business development centre models. 
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She went on to describe these centres as a practical approach to providing much needed expertise to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME).