St Kitts And Nevis
ALSO KNOW AS
Mother Colony of the West Indies
LOCATION
St. Kitts and Nevis is located in the Leeward Islands group in the Eastern Caribbean. A channel of about 3.2 km in width separates the two islands.
STATUS
Independent – 19 September 1983
HISTORY
Originally settled by Caribs, and by the British in 1623 who fought with the French for possession. The island was finally ceded to Britain in 1783 and gained independence in 1983.
MOTTO
Country Above Self
CAPITAL
Basseterre
CURRENCY
Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$)
AIRPORT
Robert Llewlyn Bradshaw International (St. Kitts), Vance Amory International (Nevis)
Country Programme Status
The CAP for St. Kitts and Nevis of US$4.80 million (EC$12.9 million) was designed to support the private sector in enhancing competitiveness. It consisted of seven components financed by one concessionary loan and six grants:
Support of Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) Development
Support of small and medium sized enterprise (SME) development through a concessionary loan of US$3.0 million (EC$8.1 million). The loan was disbursed to the Development Bank of St. Kitts of Nevis (DBSKN) to provide lower than market cost financing to SMEs. At end-2017, the DBSKN had approved US$1.93 million (EC$5.21 million) in sub-loans.
Support for the Agriculture Sector in Nevis
Support for the agriculture sector in Nevis was provided through a CDF grant of US$0.54 million (EC$1.46 million) for the irrigation of farmlands at Indian Castle and the procurement of a dehydrator for drying of fruits at the Nevis Agro-processing Centre.
The well was dug and sufficient water was reportedly found to satisfy the farmers at Indian Castle. water distribution pipelaying was at an advanced stage and the final build out of the designated well was to be completed.
The Dehydrator sub-component was procured and installed during 2015 and is in production.
Support for Energy Efficiency/Environmentally Friendly Initiatives
Support for energy efficiency/environmentally friendly initiatives in the manufacturing sector through a grant of US$0.42 million (EC$1.13 million). The grant was made to the St. Kitts Investment Promotion Agency (SKIPA) for the promotion of energy management.
Support for the Ministry of Trade
Support for the Ministry of Trade through a grant of US$0.22 million (EC$0.59 million) for Agro-Industry Market Opportunity and Trade Study.
The project was successful and the output used for the technical assistance work of the Trade Advisor.
Support for the Ministry of Trade through Two Grants
Support for the Ministry of Trade through two grants totaling US$0.17 million (EC$0.46 million) over the period June 2014 - May 2016 for the recruitment of a Trade Advisor to assist in the development of national capacity to, inter alia, develop industry programmes to exploit signed bilateral trade agreements including the Partial Scope Trade Agreement with Brazil. In addition, the Trade Advisor was expected to work with the national manufacturers and farmers to expand exports.
The output for this project was completed in 2016. A counterpart was identified and trained to continue the work started by the consultant.
Enhancement of the South Frigate Bay Area
Enhancement of the South Frigate Bay Area through a grant of US$0.45 million (EC$1.22 million) was approved by the Board on December 10, 2015.
The Agreement was signed on August 11, 2017 and the first disbursement was made on August 22, 2017.
