Local companies two years old and over, stand to benefit from grant matching financing to modernize and upgrade their operations to a sustainable competitive level, thanks to the Caribbean Export Development Agency.This was announced by Minister of Tourism,Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys, Industry and CommerceMinister of Tourism,Cheap Air Max Shoes For Sale, Industry and Commerce Irfaan Ali and Chairman of the Private Sector Commission Ronald Webster at yesterday’s press conference.Irfaan Ali during a press briefing at the Ministry’s boardroom yesterday. Invitation for proposals was opened on January 17 and the closing date is March 7 at 16:30hrs, he said.According to the Minister, the purpose of this initiative is to enhance Guyana’s, and to a wider extent the Caribbean’s competitiveness. It will allow access to bigger markets, create the enabling environment for countries to build sustainable industries to international standards,Cheap Jerseys Free, and boost competition at the international level.Emphasizing the exciting opportunity this grant holds for local businesses, he recalled that other local entities in various sectors such as tourism and agro-processing benefited from similar grants previously.Caribbean Export Development Agency is funding these projects with financing totaling in excess of 2M Euros from the Tenth European Development Fund. The vision of the Caribbean Export Development Agency is to optimize the Caribbean Region’s export potential.The private sector has been working closely with the Ministry to ensure local companies benefit from such financing avenues to advance and modernize their operations, Ali added.According to Ali, the eligible projects would fall under several categories including equipment modernization; food safety standard certification regulations; research development and innovation; advisory services; product and service development; and marketing services and activities.He stressed that there are many local companies that produce products and would like to export them to other Caribbean countries and North America but lack the financing to develop a proper marketing plan. Access to this grant would help those companies to market their products and brand to new markets.Ali related that companies in the tourism sector could benefit tremendously from this grant. The private sector nags about not having enough resources available for marketing and promotion of the different tourism facilities via brochures,Cheap NFL Jerseys, catalogue and CDs, he said.Another sector the grant could be useful for is agro-processing. He said that the American standard for processed food and agro processed products would change dramatically requiring new certification and new monitoring systems.As such, companies that want to meet these international standards could access this grant to modernize, and build their competitive capacities.The proposals submitted for the grant will pass through an evaluation grid which looks at financial and operational capacity of the business; relevance of the project to the objectives of the regional private sector, local economy and the region itself; effectiveness and feasibility of the project; sustainability of the project; and budget and cost effectiveness of project.According to Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Ronald Webster, this grant matching financing initiative is a really fantastic opportunity for private enterprises and other agencies in Guyana.It allows the opportunity for businesses to expand their operations with grant funds “where you have to match I believe dollar for dollar.”He said that countries like Haiti,Blake Swihart Jersey, Jamaica,Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago have benefited from similar grants.“But I think we need to take much greater advantage…it is a tremendous shot in the arm for an exporting entity. Make the effort in submitting business plans and submit your proposal,” Webster encouraged.