The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ABOUT 100 small and medium-sized businesses on Grand Bahama will receive grants to help restart their businesses through the RISE Grant Initiative - a joint programme established by the Grand Bahama Port Authority and Mercy Corps.

A workshop was launched yesterday at the Pelican Bay Resort to inform business owners about the process and the criteria for qualifying for grant funding up to $10,000.

Many businesses in Freeport, particularly in the Queen's Highway and downtown Freeport area, sustained severe flood damage as a result of storm surge in early September. Last October, GBPA executives met with business licensees to hear their concerns regarding the recovery and restoration of their businesses in the aftermath of Dorian.

There are some 3,000 licensees of the GBPA.

Derek Newbold, senior manager of business development and Invest Grand Bahama at the GBPA, said the RISE initiative was established to provide relief to small businesses that were affected by Hurricane Dorian.

Post-Hurricane Dorian we conducted an extensive assessment of the small business community and what we found is that they sustained significant damage, and we wanted to come up with a programme to provide relief to the small business community, specifically businesses operating within Freeport.

"So, we came up with an initiative called the RISE Grant Initiative (Restoring Industries Sustaining Employment.) We wanted to streamline the process to make it as simple as possible to access the grant and to get money in the hands of small business owners as quickly as possible."

Mr Newbold said the workshop assisted people with understanding the process and obtaining the information they need to be successful in obtaining the grant.

There were three two-hour sessions held today between 9am to 6pm.

Mr Newbold said that Mercy Corp has been an incredible partner, first helping with water distribution, and now with the grant initiative.

"They came in and wanted to find a way to jumpstart the economy and support small businesses. They heard about what we were doing, and we decided to collaborate our efforts and they brought some expertise and resources," Mr Newbold said.

During this first phase of the initiative, Mr Grant said they are going to award up to 100 grants of up $10,000.

Kelsey Lundgren, programme advisor for Mercy Corp, said getting small businesses in and outside of Freeport back up and running is vital to rebuilding the economy.

We are looking at businesses that are netting under $150,000 per year and have less than 20 employees," she said.

Ms Lundgren said businesses must have a business licence with the government or the Port Authority and must have sustained damage due to the hurricane.

"We want to know what they are going to be using the grant for, we want to make sure it is basically going to get the business up and running again," she added.

Ms Lundgren said it is a two-phase selection process and grants will depend on a person's needs.

"Right now, the target is between 75 to 100 businesses. Some people might receive $5,000, some $8,000, and $10,000. The idea behind the cash grant is that it will cover 75 percent of their needs and the other 25 percent we want them to show some sort of investment, whether they are doing their own labour, applied for a loan or getting money from family and friends, or from their savings to put into restarting the business."

Interested persons can access information on criteria to qualify for the grants on the Grand Bahama Port Authority's website.