Project Overview
OVERVIEW
Grenada achieved economic growth averaging 4.4% in real terms over the period 2013-2019. Data for the first half of 2020 indicated major declines in all sectors of the economy, particularly the Tourism and Private Tertiary Education sectors; and an overall double-digit contraction of 12.2% is estimated for 2020. The downward trend in unemployment in the past seven years, reaching a historic low of 15.1% in the fourth quarter of 2019, was reversed to 28.4% in the second quarter of 2020, because of the economic shock and loss of 14,000 jobs. The job losses were mainly in the tourism, construction and services sectors and there has been a disproportionate impact on women.
The Government of Grenada (GOGR) is taking various measures to address the economic contraction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic including supporting the recovery of MSMEs.
Grenada’s Reform and Modernization of Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Policy, endorsed by the Cabinet of Grenada in June 2020, promotes:
• improved access to affordable finance for SMEs.
• prioritising support to the tourism, agribusiness (agriculture, fisheries & agro-processing), health & wellness, creative industries, maritime and yachting, and professional services (ICT included) sectors.
• development of the blue and green sectors.
• digitization and adoption of international standards by SMEs.
• improving the export-readiness of SMEs.
• expansion of lending by the Grenada Development Bank (GDB) to SMEs.
The project establishes a Line of Credit (LOC) at the GDB that provides subloans to 65 SMEs with priority given to:
• ensuring equal access to financing by women and youth-owned SMEs.
• existing high growth potential businesses
• agriculture and agribusinesses SMEs, including SMEs engaged in value addition and the production of traditional and other export-oriented crops.
• SMEs in the areas of ICT, energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy and eco- and community-tourism.
