Hope Inc

3 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 10 A BARBADOS SUCCESS STORY General Company Overview H ome Ownership Providing Energy Inc (Hope Inc) is a project by the government of Barbados providing affordable hurricane- resilient homes at below-market rates. The project targets employed individuals in Barbados earning no more than BBD 4000 (NET) per month who do not currently own a home. Once an applicant is approved, the government provides them with the land for free, and they only need to pay for the construction of the pre-designed house, resulting in a twenty-five percent reduction in the overall cost of the home. “The Prime Minister and her economic team initially created this plan to reduce the cost of housing for teachers, police, and nurses earning less than BBD 4000,” says Tony Hoyos, who chairs the Hope Inc board. “We quickly realized this would be an extremely popular program because we were giving free land, and the program allows anyone in that bracket to qualify for a house without making a down payment.”