MINISTER of Tourism (ag), Mr Irfaan Ali in collaboration with the Private Sector Commission (PSC) on Friday disclosed the criteria for the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) grant. This grant will see an excess of € 2M being made available for the local investors.Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) is the regional export development and trade and investment promotion organisation of the Forum of the Caribbean Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States. Caribbean Export is also a beneficiary of funding assistance from the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), under which the Agency is responsible for implementing the Regional Private Sector Development Programme.

In order to be eligible for a grant a firm must be registered and operating in a CARIFORUM member state; also trading and operational for at least two years and be exporting or demonstrate their potential to export goods and services. Some of the areas indicated for funding are equipment modernisation, food safety standards/certification/regulations, research, development.innovation and training programmes.

Any funds awarded under the direct assistance programme regular procedure must fall within the following within a minimum amount €5,000 and a maximum amount of €30,000. The period to execute the project may not exceed six months from the signing of the grant contract and no extensions will be granted to beneficiaries.

Mr Ronald Webster, chairman of the PSC at the press briefing reiterated that business persons should take full advantage of this grant and also the sector is in full support of this project. He also noted that these are opportunities the sector has been lobbying for some time.
Ali is imploring the private sector to take full advantage of this opportunity so as to promote growth and development in all the areas aforementioned. Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Mr Dhaneshwar Deonarine, said persons or business desirous of additional information about this project can make contact with the Ministry of Tourism.

The deadline for this grant is March 7, 2014 at 16:30 hrs.(Barbados Time). Applications must be submitted via the dedicated email address dags@carib-export.com on or before the stated deadline.
Written by Rebecca Ganesh-Ally