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    Photo Nicholas Higgs

    August 24, 2022

    A Commitment to the Future

    In a world where it’s easy to be cynical, Nicholas Higgs ’12 is an avowed optimist. His work has made him one. Higgs is the managing director of the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB). At just 31 years old, he plays a vital role in spurring the nation’s economy by leading finance and investment in key sectors targeted for industrial development. For decades, BDB has provided budding entrepreneurs in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, transportation, manufacturing and technology with the funds necessary to grow their businesses. With Higgs at the helm, BDB is moving faster than ever to finance innovative, new companies. He is confident in the future, he says, because every day he sees smart, talented people who are working tirelessly to strengthen their communities. In other words, the Le Moyne alumnus knows that there are countless other people who share his deep commitment to the future. 

     

    “I feel confident about what’s to come because I know I’m not alone,” he says. “There are a lot of good gifted and eager people engaging in this work.”

     

    Higgs’ personal and professional life led him to this moment. His father is an entrepreneur, designing and manufacturing dental restoratives at a full-service laboratory in the Bahamian capital of Nassau. As a child, Higgs admired and ultimately adopted his father’s ferocious work ethic. His upbringing instilled in him the capacity to identify a need and meet it, and the desire to use his skills and talents to uplift family and friends. Following his graduation from high school, Saint Augustine’s College, Higgs spent a year at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark., before transferring to Le Moyne in 2009.

     

    His time on the Heights would prove to be transformative. While studying finance and business analytics, Higgs forged important relationships with people like Professor Emeritus Business Analytics Ronald Wright, Ph.D., and former Director of Career Advising Linda McGraw. He also devoted himself to his work as a resident adviser and a member of Organizational Finance and Review Committee, which directs funding for student organizations. In short, he learned what it means to be a nimble, self-possessed leader who is able to collaborate effectively with others. 

     

    Now, just a decade after his graduation, Higgs has amassed an impressive list of accomplishments. The Le Moyne alumnus raised $19 million of the $60 million needed to launch a second cellphone network in the Bahamas – Be Aliv Limited. He established a financial literacy program known as Get Money Smart in collaboration with the Central Bank of The Bahamas to teach people the ins and outs of saving and investing. The Le Moyne alumnus also helped lead the approval and dissemination of more than $70 million in funding to small businesses for development projects impacting over 1,900 clients across the islands of The Bahamas. This included funding to rebuild and sustain businesses in the wake of natural disasters like Hurricane Dorian in 2019, which decimated the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, and the Covid-19 pandemic. What’s more, Higgs has traveled to El Salvador, Barbados, Uruguay, Jamaica and Bermuda to learn about their approaches to economic development and to share his own challenges and successes in the field, all with an eye toward helping his community. 

     

    As for the future, Higgs is committed to continuing along this path, and to directing his time and talents to help meet the world’s needs. 

     

    “I look forward to being the conduit between Bahamian businesses, large to small, and local and global investors,” he says. “With over 700 islands and cays in The Bahamas, the opportunities are vast and I am excited with assisting with that development.”

    Category: Alumni in Action