97 business owners receive financial help under BERRy Project

NINETY-SEVEN SMALL and micro-business owners are the first recipients of grant support disbursed under the Beryl Emergency Resilient Recovery Project (BERRy).

The grant support is provided to persons who were affected by Hurricane Beryl, and disbursement was made last Friday, December 5, 2025 to cohorts 1-4.

The 97 beneficiaries across St Vincent and the Grenadines received a total of EC$ $376,000 under this initial phase, states a release from the Ministry of Finance, where the BERRy project is housed.

The Business Support Grant is regarded as a key component of the BERRy project’s efforts to restore livelihoods and strengthen economic resilience following the widespread impact of the hurricane. The financial grant is provided to help business owners resume operations, replace essential tools and equipment, and stabilize income-generating activities.

As part of the programme, successful recipients also completed a two-day

business training workshop delivered by the Centre for Enterprise Development (CED).The workshops were held on mainland St Vincent, in Canouan and Union Island, equipping participants with practical skills in financial management, marketing, and strategies for withstanding economic shocks. These sessions form a critical part of the project’s approach, combining financial support with capacity building to strengthen long-term resilience and business continuity, the release further states.

Businesses will receive additional coaching and monitoring over the next six months by the CED.

A second support grant is expected to be announced soon under the BERRy Project ,and the public is asked to be on the alert for the when the information is released.