Upon successful completion of the four-week or two-day training program, the participants are provided with one-on-one business plan consultancy by the business plan training team, until the business plans meet the standards of the Business Plan Assessment Committee before approaching the financial institutions for loan negotiation. Upon the recommendation of the Business Plan Assessment Committee the business plans are approved by the Dominica Youth Business Trust (DYBT), and the participants are provided with a recommendation letter to accompany the business plan to facilitate the loan application process.
The DYBT formalized a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Dominica Agricultural Industrial and Development Bank (DAIDB), the National Development Foundation of Dominica (NDFD), and several Cooperative Credit Unions in Dominica for the administration of a Loan Guarantee Fund (LGF).
The benefactors of this facility include the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Organization of American States (OAS). The fund currently guarantees a maximum of twenty thousand Eastern Caribbean Dollars (EC$20,000.00) for each eligible applicant. The loans are administered on the terms and conditions of the lending institutions; however the DYBT negotiates on a continuous basis with the lending institutions on the behalf of the clients. Interest rates range between 5% and 11%. The repayment period is determined by the size of the loan and the recipient's ability to pay. The average repayment period is sixty (60) months. The moratorium arrangement with the lending institutions is quite flexible. The average moratorium granted to entrepreneurs is six months.
The DYBT monitors the performance of the loans by obtaining quarterly reports from the lending institutions and following up on the entrepreneurs on a regular basis. Where delinquency exists, timely interventions are made; however in extreme cases of loan default the DYBT shall repay upon the request of the lending institution.
The Trust also formalizes agreement with the entrepreneur upon approval of his loan application. This formal document stipulates the responsibilities of the loan recipient and the ramifications for non compliance.