The Government of Montserrat has approved the allocation of an additional EC$137,000 into its Small Business Relief Fund.
Another 21 business owners will receive grants for trade specific equipment, appliances and tools, a government press release said on 1 March.
In September, 2023, the government approved EC$100,000 for the fund and was able to provide financial assistance to 22 businesses.
Most of those businesses were within the food and beverage, creative and craft, or media and entertainment sectors.
“However, this was not enough to fund all of the qualifying applications,” the press release said.
The new allocation will bring the total number of successful applications to 43 during this cycle.
All of the businesses benefiting under the fund are eligible for duty free exemption on the importation of items purchased from overseas.
The government first rolled out the fund in 2022. At the time, the European Union provided EC$100,000 in financial relief for small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
To date, the government has invested $337,000 into the private sector through the fund.
The Ministry of Finance received a total of 87 applications from local businesses during the latest cycle.
