2022 Annual Results Report

IMPACTING LIVES The Direct Support Grants Programme (DSGP) was developed in 2020 in response to the immediate need for firms to retool and mitigate the impact COVID-19 as businesses work 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 is a non-reimbursable grant facility providing grants valued between €5,000 - €15,000 directly to awardees 100% upfront, to implement approved projects. The Agency conducted an Impact Assessment of the DSGP 2020 beneficiaries to understand the impact of the grant facility on the small business recipients. Forty-four (44) out of the 63 grant recipients (70%) were assessed on the impact of their funded projects which had been implemented over a six (6) month period. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of the firms assessed recorded successful completion of their projects objectives as well as the realization of their expected outputs. A further 16% noted that they partially completed their projects, procuring the equipment or tools necessary, however, covid-related challenges delayed their complete integration into the operation or production lines and thus have not reported any significant outputs to date.

A total of twenty-four (24) respondents indicated that they were either able to penetrate new export markets or grow their customer base in existing markets, 75% of which “penetrated new markets” and 25% “expanding operations in existing markets”.

Participants identified a total of 23 export markets, both regionally and internationally where they were able to increase their market share which included the United States (54%), United Kingdom (23%) and Canada (18%) as the markets, which firms were able to access and where they experienced the most growth. Beneficiaries have begun to register upward trends in their exports and sales, compared to two or three years prior with 45% of the firms assessed recording growth in their export sales/revenue with a cumulative export revenue recorded of US$1,116,369.59. This represents a 65% increase compared to beneficiary export revenue prior to project implementation.

Transforming to a Greener, Smarter, Resilient Caribbean | Annual Results Report - 2022 42