14 Businesses Get Export Plans Under The EPA Standby Facility
Fourteen (14) Saint Lucian enterprises are getting hands-on with the development of export plans to effectively pursue existing market opportunities in France, Germany and Spain. This is another major milestone for the Trade Export Promotion Agency (TEPA) resulting from an ongoing project to equip trade promotion and business support organizations (TPOs/BSOs) to develop export capacity and market penetration strategies for a total of 26 qualifying Saint Lucian enterprises.
The selected companies represent the Agriculture and Agro-processing, Food and Beverage, Creative Services, and Health and Wellness sectors. They are Saint Lucia Distillers Group of Companies, Viking Traders, Frootsy, Caribbean Blue, Natmed, Saint Lucia Fairtrade Association, Antillia Brewing, Back To Roots, Mille Fleur Honey, Anjay’s Cocoa Sticks, Saint Lucia Floral Cooperative Society Ltd, Duboulay’s Bottling Company, Fond Assau Agro Processing Plant, Cocoa Saint Lucie and Fudgies. These companies met the criteria set under a consultancy “Enhancing Lucia’s Trading Environment and Export Capabilities Market Access Consultancy” which was conducted by Kisserup International Trade Roots Inc and funded under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
The training, which is being facilitated by business development consultant Keith Millar and TEPA staff, took the form of two 2-day workshops from August 30 – September 01, and September 11 – 12. It was preceded by an earlier round of coaching for TEPA staff, to equip them to be able to provide similar coach for companies in the future, as well as to establish to a strategy for working together to penetrate the identified EU markets going forward. To this end, and in addition to the 14 market penetration strategies, this capacity building exercise will also furnish TEPA with an approved export plan development methodology and template, guidelines and training materials for future use.
