Last week the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) during its Legacy of Leaders Celebration Luncheon at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre recognised five Barbadian business persons – James Husbands, founder of Solar Dynamics, was one of five awardees.

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He deserves his recognition, he grew Solar Dynamics to be a household name in Barbados although attempts to take the company regional floundered. Surprising to some, there was a report in the media Solar Dynamics was sold to George Connolly in 2023. The first thought that came to mind was, where was the succession plan? However, it was still good to know that transfer of ownership was to a fellow Barbadian. Too many Bajan companies have been acquired by expats in recent years.

However, there was sadness after reading the notification Christopher Sambrano was appointed Receiver of Solar Dynamics by Royal Bank of Canada. Although being placed in receivership does not mean Solar Dynamics will fade from the Barbados landscape, what it means for sure is that it is a company under financial distress and will likely fail.

Locally owned companies continue to fail in Barbados and the impact obviously goes beyond the loss of just a business, it deflates our national confidence as a people. Local companies are suppose to be symbols of our cultural identity, representative of our education system. The transfer of ownership to outside players or demise of our best companies admits a failure to be able to sucessfully marshal our human and financial resources.

We have witnessed the demise or sale of Shamrock, N.E. Wilson, Barbados Shipping & Trading, Barbados National Bank and several others that suggest Barbadians cannot sustain our own institutions.

Are we there yet?