Local businesses had until yesterday, July 17 to make applications for financial support through the Accelerator Interest-Free Loans Programme of the Eastern Caribbean Green Entrepreneurship Initiative.

The Centre for Enterprise Development Inc. (CED), the local business support organization on the initiative, said in a release that the July, 17 extended deadline was to give businesses some additional time to apply if they had missed the initial deadline.

This initiative’s Accelerator Programme targets high-potential green enterprises in their growth stage. It provides access to capital up to $US 50,000 in interest-free loans, investment opportunities, and continued learning which helps scale these businesses to maximize profitability and impact. The programme is part of the broader effort to foster a vibrant ecosystem of green entrepreneurship in the Eastern Caribbean, one that can drive economic growth while advancing environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness.

In April, local businessman Ricardo Boatswain, owner of Solife Inc., was announced as one of two green entrepreneurs across participating OECS states awarded interest-free loans. Solife Inc. is a solar service business that provides installation, financing and monitoring for all solar PV products.

The CED said it is hoping that more Vincentian businesses will succeed in securing one of the interest-free loans as awardees are selected from a competitive pool of applicants to receive funding and support to grow their businesses and continue to contribute to the region’s sustainable development.

The Eastern Caribbean Green Entrepreneurship Initiative is funded by the Qatar Fund for Development and implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute, in partnership with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). This regional programme aims to foster and facilitate the development, establishment, and growth of innovative green enterprises in six Protocol OECS Member States namely, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.