11TH European Development Fund Implementation Report 2017- 2023

2 ‘Calls for Proposals’ were conducted under the DAGS in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

2nd call 2019

A total of 1st call 2018 177 applications for DAGS funding were received in response to its 1st call for proposals under the 11th EDF

A total of 104 applications were received in response to its 2nd call for propodals under the 11th EDF grants 55 however, 39 firms successfully completed their DAGS projects and were reimbursed. The awardees represented all CARIFORUM States, except for The Bahamas. The total value of the grants awarded was €1,579,187.15 were awarded

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were awarded

The awardees represented all CARIFORUM States, except The Bahamas. The total value of the grants awarded was €2,193,147.56

(4) Direct Support Grants Programme (DSGP) The Direct Support Grants Programme (DSGP) was developed in 2020 in response to the immediate need for firms to retool and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 as businesses worked towards their recovery. The Agency announced its call for proposals in September 2020 utilizing €915,000.00 provided by the European Union under the 11th EDF Regional Private Sector Programme (RPSDP). Unlike previous grant programmes, the DSGP was a non-reimbursable grant valued between €5,000 - €15, 000 whereby 100% of the grant was provided to awardees to implement approved projects. Four hundred and thirty-five (435) applications were received from 15 CARIFORUM States. A total of 63 grants were awarded. (5) Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) and Dominican Republic Grant Scheme (DRGS) The Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) and the Dominican Republic Grant Scheme (DRGS) were developed in 2021 in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to further support businesses to pivot, up-skill and survive. The programmes aimed to achieve multiple objectives, including providing direct assistance to the region's private sector, especially SMEs, to address COVID-19-related challenges without repayment obligations, supporting activities to sustain business operations during disruptions, facilitating the expansion of exports within the Caribbean or international markets, and capitalizing on the benefits of agreements like the CARIFORUM-European Union Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), CARICOM Single Market Economy (CSME), and other bilateral or multilateral arrangements between regional countries and ACP or EU partners.

Implementation of the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Regional Private Sector Development Programme (RPSDP)

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