Grant Proposal Beneficiary
On February 18th -19th, 2015, the Trade Export Promotion Agency (TEPA) in collaboration with Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), hosted a training workshop and one on one sessions for beneficiaries of the Direct Assistance Grant Scheme (DAGS). The overall objective of the intervention was to conduct an overview of the grant procurement procedures for beneficiaries and to address the concerns/challenges they experienced in completing the documents for reimbursement.
The Direct Assistance Grant Scheme (DAGS) is a reimbursement grant funding facility specifically designed to provide financial assistance to legally registered small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), individuals and Business Support Organisations (BSOs) with the potential to export their products and services.
Under this DAGS, Caribbean Export disbursed 140 grants under both the accelerated (31) and regular (109) procedures. Saint Lucian firms were awarded 17 grants with a value of approximately €303,000, representing a 142% increase in funding over the first Call for Proposals in 2011/2012, which saw 8 grants awarded valued at €125,000.
TEPA anticipates that the support given to beneficiaries in Saint Lucia through this reimbursement training will ensure that firms and individuals understand and comply with the terms and conditions of the grant procurement procedures.
