• 
  $3.5 million BBD
  has been allocated to CARIFORUM Firms
  
• 
  55 companies will
  receive grants of up to $66,000 BBD
  
• 
  Funds have been
  provided by the European Union via the 11th EDF Regional Private
  Sector Development Programme
  

Bridgetown,
BARBADOS, November 12, 2019.The Caribbean Export Development Agency
(Caribbean Export) in cooperation with the European Union has awarded
over $3.5M BBD (€1.5M) under their 2nd Call for
Proposals for the Direct
Assistance Grant Scheme (DAGS).

The
2nd
call for proposals was launched in April of this year and the Agency
received 104 grant proposal applications from across the region and
fifty-five
(55) proposals have been approved for grant
funding.

“It
is widely acknowledged that the most significant impediment noted by
CARIFORUM business when it comes to business development and
expansion is the lack of access to finance” informed Damie Sinanan
– Manager, Competitiveness and Export Promotion at Caribbean
Export. “The Direct Assistance Grant Scheme aims specifically to
tackle this issue to enable more companies to export and grow.”

The
total grant funding awarded to CARIFORUM firms under the 11th
EDF now stands at over $8.3M BBD or €3.7M
and the Agency intends to award more grants in the upcoming year.

Grant
funding has been used for a range of projects including food safety
certification, equipment modernisation to enable increased
production, marketing and branding, product development amongst
others.

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