FREEPORT, Grand Bahama, December 4, 2019 — Micro, small and medium businesses now have access to much-needed funding as they prepare for the upcoming holiday season. The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA), today announced the Restoring Industries and Sustaining Employment (RISE) Initiative, in collaboration with Mercy Corps (MC), a leading global humanitarian and development organization.
The RISE initiative will offer grants to at least 100 qualifying local businesses from across Grand Bahama that have suffered losses as a direct result of Hurricane Dorian. Grants up to $10,000 will be offered, with applicants having access to Mercy Corps’ ground-breaking MicroMentor programme, which pairs business owners with mentors in their sector, to help guide them forward.
According to GBPA Director Henry St. George, the RISE initiative comes as a direct result of GBPA’s post-Hurricane Dorian assessment of nearly 2,000 Licensees.
“Our post-Dorian SME assessment revealed some very sobering data. We learned that nearly 70% of licensees were either uninsured or underinsured; 55% suffered significant damage due to flooding, and while 60% of businesses have re-opened, they continue to struggle to acquire new inventory, replace damaged equipment, and operate in this testing environment,” St. George said.
Click on the following link to read the full story posted on Facebook by the GBPA Public Relations department: https://media.gbpa.com/2019/12/04/gbpa-mercy-corps-launch-grant-programme-to-help-local-economy-rise-again/?fbclid=IwAR3be_7yHdBoKIAaxVZlDhmZB8WA2HgmHVHl5Eajf3dt5t6JoOOkNnZvWzs
