Local businesses wishing to increase the competitiveness of their firms by increasing export potential and expansion of export markets are being invited by The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce’s recently established Small Medium Enterprises Support Unit (SMESU) to apply for The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) Direct Assistance Grant Scheme.
The Agency officially launched a call for proposals on Monday, February 9 and the deadline for the same is Friday, February 20.
Caribbean Export is a regional trade and investment development and promotion organisation of the 15 CARIFORUM Member States namely: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
Their vision is to be recognised as the premier regional organisation for trade and investment development and promotion and their mission is to increase the competitiveness of Caribbean countries by providing quality trade and investment development and promotion services through effective programme execution and strategic partnerships.
Philip Simon, Executive Director of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce said applicants could access funds under the Accelerated Procedures grants for smaller projects that may include, but not limited to marketing, promotion, trade shows, workshops, research, equipment etc.,
Hank Ferguson, Trade Economist and Manager of The Chamber’s SMESU unit said that the grant scheme presents a wonderful opportunity for local businesses to access funding to expand their businesses, particularly during these challenging economic times.
The Direct Assistance Grant Scheme is focused on enhancing the competitiveness of the firms in the Caribbean Region (Cariforum) through increasing export potential and expansion of export markets.
The funding contribution for regular procedures is a maximum of Euro 30,000. This means that any funds awarded under the direct assistance regular procedure must fall with the following amounts: minimum amount: Euro 5,000 and maximum amount: Euro 30,000.
No direct assistance under the accelerated procedure may exceed 70 percent of the total eligible costs of the project.
The duration for both regular and accelerated procedures has been revised. Projects to be implemented under the regular and accelerated procedures will have a maximum duration of four months and two months respectively.
All budgets submitted must be quoted in Euros and foreign exchange variations will be borne by the applicant.
