In its continued program of support to its Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise members and those in the wider Business Community, the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the Ministry of Commerce to bring some vital information to that sector that if applied will enhance the operations of the MSME business.
“Available Concessions, Incentives and Support Programs for MSMEs” on Thursday February
25th 2021 from 5:00pm, will share critical information on the plethora of concessions, incentives, and other support programs available to MSMEs in St. Lucia. Often, members of the business community are not aware of the support that is available to them in terms of incentives and concessions. Often, they lament that this type of support is available for only a select few. As the saying goes “ignorance of the law is no excuse”. Thus, along with the Ministry of Commerce, the Chamber will present in one fell swoop the variety of support programs available to MSMEs on island.
Invest St. Lucia will also share how they can and do support local MSMEs, while the Bank of St. Lucia will provide details on their newest product, “the Partial Guarantee Scheme” that will specifically help exporters, by guaranteeing their revenue on foreign sales. This e-seminar will be filled with larger quantities of information that will leave the MSME sector in amazement as to how they have not accessed these programs before. Presenters from the Ministry will detail what is available and how firms can apply.
This program is part of the Chamber of Commerce’s response to enquiries from its smaller members on what kind of support they can get to help combat the effects of COVID-19 and how the Chamber can improve their access to capital and credit. So, by partnering with a number of Agencies who operate in this space including the Savings Bank Foundation for International Cooperation and the St. Lucia Development Bank a program series has been designed and is now being delivered.
MSMEs seeking guidance and support to grow and improve access to credit are and urged to register for this program and contact the Chamber for more information and support.