✨ BEY, LET'S TALK ABOUT 51%
✨A Message to My Bahamian People...
You've heard it your whole life: "This business is Bahamian owned!"
And when you asked how much, they said: "51%"
And you felt proud. Because 51% sounds like majority. Sounds like control. Sounds like ours.
But let me show you something.
✨ 👀 THE MATH THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE...👀 ✨
Picture a business worth $10 million.
Foreign investor puts up: $8 million (80% of the capital)
Bahamian partner puts up: $2 million (20% of the capital)
🤔 But the ownership is split:
👀 Foreign investor owns: 49%
👀 Bahamian partner owns: 51%
✨ Look at that again.
The foreign investor:
🤑 Put up 80% of the money
🤑 Takes 49% of the profit
🤑 Controls the operations
🤑 Makes the real decisions
🤑 Has all the expertise
🤑 Knows all the suppliers
The Bahamian partner:
😭 Put up 20% of the money
😭 Takes 51% of the profit
⚠️ But depends on foreign partner for everything
✨ Who REALLY owns that business?
✨ HERE'S WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS
The foreign investor says:
🗣️ "I'll handle operations, suppliers, management, marketing. You just be the face for the government paperwork."
🗣️ And the Bahamian partner agrees. Because they don't have:
🤷🏾♂️ The connections
🤷🏾♂️ The expertise
🤷🏾♂️ The capital
🤷🏾♂️ The suppliers
🤷🏾♂️ The systems
So 51% ownership becomes a FRONT.
The foreign investor:
🤔 Charges "management fees" (reducing profit)
🤔 Bills "consulting services" (reducing profit)
🤔 Adds "operational costs" (reducing profit)
🤔 Transfers money through "supplier contracts" (reducing profit)
🏴☠️ By the time profit gets calculated, there's barely anything left for that 51%. The money leaves the country in fees, not profit. And it's all legal.
✨ THE BIGGER GAME
🏘️ This isn't just about one business.
Look around:
How many "Bahamian owned" businesses are 51%? How many are actually controlled by Bahamians? How many have Bahamian management making real decisions? How much profit actually stays in Bahamian hands?
💔 51% was designed to LOOK like Bahamian control while preserving foreign dominance.
🎁 It's exploitation with a nationalist bow on top.
✨ WHY WE ACCEPTED IT
Because after independence, we were told:
"Foreign investment good. We need the capital. We need the expertise. 51% ensures Bahamian ownership while attracting investors."
✨ And it SOUNDED good.
We got majority on paper. But we gave away control in practice. And for 50+ years, we've been calling this "Bahamian owned."
🏴☠️ When really, we've been fronts for foreign profit extraction. 💰
✨ THE TRUTH WE NEED TO FACE
51% was NEVER Bahamian ownership. It was the MINIMUM required to make exploitation look patriotic.
Real ownership means:
💪🏾 Real capital investment
💪🏾 Real operational control
💪🏾 Real decision-making power
💪🏾 Real profit staying local
⚡️ ⚠️⚡️ At 51%, you have NONE of that guaranteed. You have a NUMBER on paper. And a lot of faith that your foreign partner isn't taking advantage.
🙏🏾 How's that faith working out?
✨ WHAT REAL OWNERSHIP LOOKS LIKE
⭐️ 60% minimum. ⭐️ Here's why:
✨ At 60%, the Bahamian partner:
💪🏾 Put up enough capital to have REAL stake
💪🏾 Has operational control that matters
💪🏾 Makes decisions that stick
💪🏾 Can't be out-maneuvered by foreign partner
Actually benefits from the profit
✨ 60% means you have POWER, not just paperwork.
✨ THEY'LL SAY IT'S TOO MUCH
🫤 "You'll scare away investors!"
🫤 "Foreign capital will leave!"
🫤 "We can't compete regionally!"
⭐️ Good. Let them leave if they only want to come here to exploit us.
✨ Let them go somewhere else to hide behind local fronts. We want partners who RESPECT our ownership, not USE it for cover.
✨ THIS IS ABOUT DIGNITY
Not just dollars. Every time we accept 51% as "Bahamian owned," ⭐️ we're saying: "We'll settle for the appearance of control while you keep the actual power."
😓 Every business at 51% is a reminder that we accepted the MINIMUM.
Our grandchildren will ask us:
"👶🏾 Why did you let them do that?" What will we say? "Because we were grateful for the crumbs?"
✨ THE DECISION IS OURS
⭐️ We can keep accepting 51%. Keep pretending it's real ownership. Keep watching profits leave. Keep being fronts.
💪🏾 Or we can demand better. Not because we hate foreigners. Because we love our country. And real love means real standards.
✨ 60 IS THE NEW 50.
✨ 51% WAS NEVER BAHAMIAN OWNERSHIP.
It's time we admitted that. It's time we demanded more.
❤️ It's time we stopped settling for the appearance of control and started requiring the REALITY of it.
✨ Our businesses. Our capital. Our decisions. Our profit.
Not 51% on paper while everything else stays overseas.
Real ownership. Real control. Real future.
✨ THIS IS OUR RESOLUTION
Not just for 2026. For our children. For our sovereignty. For our dignity.
Together, as Bahamians. We deserve better than 51%.
We deserve better than fronts. We deserve real ownership of our own country.
🇧🇸 It starts now. It starts with us.
60% or nothing.
💪🏾 BSO | Interactive Bahamian Futurism
#BahamanOwned #60IsTheNew50
[Comment below: What businesses do you know that are "51% Bahamian" but clearly foreign controlled?
🗣️ Let's talk about it.]
