‘Up to 30,000 euros in funding available’, says Invest SVG

In its continued effort to facilitate local businesses in the growth and development of products and services in St Vincent and the Grenadines, the nation’s investment promotions agency, Invest SVG,{{more}} is once again accepting proposals on behalf of the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA).

CEDA, the only regional trade and investment promotion agency in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group, has announced the publication of the Call for Proposals for the Regular Procedures.

This call is open to individuals from across all 15 CARIFORUM member states, including St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Funding is available, up to 30,000 euros per applicant, and must be utilized within six months of being granted. Applicants must be able to finance the cost of their project, after which they would be reimbursed 70% of monies spent, once that 70% is not in excess of €30,000.

Fundable projects include: Research, Development and Innovation; Advisory services; Product and service development; Marketing services and activities (e.g. trade fairs participation, trade mission and in-market activities); Quality and environmental systems; Promotional materials (e.g. brochures, catalogues, CDs and video); Training programmes; Implementation of IT solutions (e.g. website, e-commerce and multimedia); Market research and testing; Packaging/design; Intellectual Property activities (e.g. brand registration and patents).

In 2011, five Vincentian businesses received CEDA funding, of which four were the recipients of 15,000 euros each.

Proposal forms may be downloaded directly from Caribbean Export’s website at www.carib-export.com.

Invest SVG is accepting proposals, which would then be forwarded to Caribbean Export, at no cost to the applicant. The agency can also be approached by applicants seeking assistance with the structuring and review of their proposals before final submission.

The deadline for the 2012 CEDA Call for Proposals is July 6th, 2012, at 4:00 p.m.

Applicants wishing to utilize Invest SVG’s services must submit their proposal directly to Invest SVG by July 3, at 4:00 p.m. EST.

Local entrepreneurs are encouraged to register their businesses with Invest SVG to access information on grant funding and other investment opportunities. For further information, contact Invest SVG at 457-2159, or email info@investsvg.com.