Bridgetown,
BARBADOS, May 15, 2019.
Caribbean fashion and
contemporary designers are getting a boost to help them penetrate the
international market, through an accelerator programme jointly funded
by the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) in
cooperation with the European Union and the Caribbean Development
Bank (CDB). The Bank’s funding is through its Cultural and Creative
Industries Innovation Fund (CIIF).

Starting
on May 6th,
twenty (20) designers from across the region have been participating
in an intensive boot camp-style workshop led by Sandra Carr, one of
the pioneers of the Caribbean Academy of Fashion and Design at the
University of Trinidad and Tobago. The twenty (20) participants will
work with an expert team to refine their products for the export
market, and they will go through a process of identifying where best
to place their products; and how to develop their brand. They will
also learn how to leverage social media platforms to reach their
target audience and develop a go to market strategy. The programme
runs until May 17th.

“We
received 70 applications to participate in this programme, which has
been devised specifically to get the designers to a certain point
where they can capitalise further on future aspects of the programme
such as the grants from CDB and participation at the Caribbean
Fashion Showroom” commented Allyson Francis, Services Specialist at
Caribbean Export.

Caribbean
Export and CDB through its Cultural and Creative Industries
Innovation Fund (CIIF), are collaborating to
enable
a
larger
cadre
of
professionals
within
the
Creative
Industries to access critical resources.
Caribbean Export has gained resources from the European Union as
part of the 11th
EDF Regional Private Sector Development Programme (RPSDP). The
Agency’s collaboration with CDB has enabled the pooling of
resources to provide added support to the region’s fashion
industry.

After
completing the workshop, participating designers from CDB member
countries will become eligible to apply for a CIIF Improving the
Competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) grant
and also gain access to Caribbean Export’s market integration
platform the Caribbean Fashion Showroom.

“We
are extremely pleased with the response by our Borrowing Member
Countries (BMCs)to the opportunity being provided through this
fashion accelerator, and we are delighted that the beneficiaries of
the programme come from 13 of CDB’s 19 BMCs. It is an excellent
opportunity for designers to network, share experiences and learn
from each other. Over the 10 days, designers have benefited from the
tutelage of more than five influencers and experts in the fashion
industry. This capacity building intervention is a key component of
CIIF, which seeks to improve the competitiveness of creative
industries practitioners in the Region” shared Lisa
Harding, MSME Coordinator at CDB.

About
Caribbean Export

Caribbean Export is a
regional export development and trade and investment promotion
organisation of the Forum of Caribbean States (CARIFORUM) currently
executing the Regional Private Sector Programme (RPSDP) funded by the
European Union under the 11th European Development Fund
(EDF) Caribbean Export’s mission is to increase the
competitiveness of Caribbean countries by providing quality export
development and trade and investment promotion services through
effective programme execution and strategic alliances.

More information about
Caribbean Export can be found at www.carib-export.com.
Contact: JoEllen Laryea, PR and Communications, Caribbean Export
Development Agency, Tel: +1(246) 436-0578, Fax: +1(246) 436-9999,
Email: jlaryea@carib-export.com

About the Cultural and
Creative Industries Innovation Fund (CIIF) at CDB

The
Cultural and Creative Industries Innovation Fund (CIIF) was
established in 2017 with an initial USD2.6 million in capitalisation
from the Caribbean Development Bank. It is intended to be a
multi-donor fund, which will support the development of the creative
industries (CI) sector in the Caribbean and encourage
innovation, job creation and improved enterprise sustainability by
providing grant financing and technical assistance (TA) to
creative/cultural entrepreneurs, micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises (MSMEs), business support organisations (BSO) and
academia, which support the CIs sector in CDB’s Borrowing Member
Countries (BMC. CIIF’s goal is to enable the
region’s cultural and creative industries to be globally
competitive.

www.caribank.org/ciif

For
more information on CIIF, contact Dr. Marielle Barrow Maignan, CIIF
Coordinator, Caribbean Development Bank, Tel: 246 431 1693, Email:
barrowm@caribank.org.