UBEC/OECS Announces MSME Training Series in SVG

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission, through the World Bank–funded Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean (UBEC) Project, is rolling out a focused series of MSME training sessions in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). This is to help entrepreneurs in Fisheries, Marine Tourism, and Waste Management strengthen their operations and submit competitive proposals under the Regional MSME Matching Grants Programme (Window 1).

Window 1 offers US$5,000–$25,000 to eligible MSMEs. These training sessions are designed to build the exact skills evaluators look for; clear problem definition, realistic budgeting, measurable results, record keeping, pricing, customer service, and basic financial literacy, so MSMEs can grow sustainably, create jobs, and compete, a release from the OECS Commission states. The in-person grant proposal writing began on Monday, November 10, 2025 and will continue on November 14 and 17, 2025 from 9:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m at the conference room of the Centre for Enterprise Development (CED). Participants will learn to:

Identify the right grant and key components of a strong proposal.

Define the problem, beneficiaries,  outputs/inputs/outcomes/impact.

Craft measurable indicators; make projects S.M.A.R.T.

Build sustainability and a credible budget.

Map activities, roles, responsibilities and sequencing; draft the proposal.

The second block of training was held online and addressing Fundamentals of Marketing, and ran from Nov 11–13, 2025. The third bloc of training will also be online and will address Customer Service, running from November 18-19 2025 from 6:00 p.m to 9:00 pm. Registration must be done by today, November 14, 2025, and forms may be accessed at:

​Registration: https://forms.gle/Cd2ZAziitDtM8HXa7

The fourth session of training will be on Recordkeeping Basics, a in-person activity that runs from November 25-29, 2025 running from 9:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m at the conference room of the CED. Training will also be conducted in Costing & Pricing Basics in December, and in Understanding Financial Statements, also in December 2025.