BELTRAIDE Awards 15 Small Businesses $7,000 Grant  

This morning, fifteen small businesses from all over Belize received a boost of seven thousand dollars each through BELTRAIDE’s Belize Enterprise Empowerment Project (BEEP). Supported by the CARICOM Development Fund, this initiative aims to help growing businesses expand their reach and enhance their products. News Five’s Britney Gordon was at the seed capital ceremony in Belize to bring us more details.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Seed capital is the initial funding that a new business gathers to develop its product. It’s a crucial investment needed to get the company off the ground. This morning, the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE) hosted a Seed Capital grant ceremony, where fifteen growing businesses were awarded seven thousand dollars each. Ishmael Quiroz, Executive Director of BELTRAIDE, mentioned that the recipients were carefully selected to represent a diverse range of industries.

 

Ishmael Quiroz, Executive Director, BELTRAIDE

“So it’s a wide range of businesses. Spanning from agro-processors to artisans to service providers, people operating in the cosmetics industry. And so it’s quite diverse and it’s fantastic to see such innovative ideas coming up. Things involving people, providing photography services, for example. And so it’s, it really is inspirational and we hope that it opens the minds of entrepreneurs out there, especially young people to not be afraid of your new ideas, go after it.”

 

To qualify for the grant, recipients had to go through a tough selection process, which included multiple rounds of applications and training, submitting detailed proposals, and delivering a two-minute pitch to a panel of judges. Herbalist Aurora Saqui, is one of the lucky fifteen chosen from a pool of two hundred and thirty applicants.

 

Aurora Saqui, Grant Recipient

“I have a small business and I am, my ideas is to grow and maybe one day, be trademark in Belize and not only in Belize, maybe for the world. And I am promoting the natural remedies. So I have been struggling with my business.  from when I was younger.  And today, I feel very excited because it is the first time I am getting a little help to do a little bit more of my footsteps that I always dream of, and I feel that good, more good things gonna start to happen.”

 

With the grant money, she plans to broaden her reach by offering more ready-made, pre-packaged products. She also aims to cut down on preparation time by investing in better machinery.

 

Aurora Saqui

“I have oil, soap, tinctures. More ready to use creams. Beauty products too. I even have Colgate’s deodorants, and so far I am doing good. I have over eighty different products ready to use in my shop. And I am now promoting my product as the Kittal remedies, which is I have branded it. I have registered and so from now on I want Al Remedies to be known like in Belize and abroad.”

 

Another grant recipient is Orissa Molina, the proud owner of Treasured Memories Photobooth, which offers instant photobooth and three hundred and sixty photo services for events. Molina shared that part of the application process involved creating a detailed investment plan.

 

Orissa Moline, Grant Recipient

“So when we got the news, we were elated because we know that we were up against really good businesses and we were hoping that everybody could get the funding, but we were so happy and so elated and proud of our accomplishments really and truly for receiving this fund. And this is going to provide the funding or the initial investment that we need to provide the 360 overhead booth and we’re going solar.  Our booths are now going to be powered solely by the sun. It’s solar powered photo boots, which means, Britney, that we can go to any part of Belize. You don’t have to have electricity.”

 

Molina also plans to make her services more inclusive and accessible to people in wheelchairs and with mobility issues.

 

Orissa Moline

“We wanted to create the overhead 360 for persons who have mobility issues who cannot step on a traditional platform. I’m sure you guys have seen the 360 videos, and you have to step onto a platform. But people who are in wheelchairs, or people who have mobility issues, or seniors, can’t step on a platform. And so we wanted to include everybody in what we do.”

 

The Belize Enterprise Empowerment Project, funded by the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF), started as a loan but was later converted into a grant at the government’s request. CDF has provided BELTRAIDE with four hundred thousand dollars for grant distribution. CDF CEO, Rodinald Soomer, highlighted the fund’s long-standing relationship with Belize, noting that Belize was the site of the fund’s first country program back in 2010.

 

Rodinald Soomer, CEO, CARICOM Development Fund

“We’ve come to realize that these SMEs in the region are just Belize, require a lot of support if it’s concessional financing to either get their operation started or to grow their businesses. So, you know, we are really happy to be part of this process.  But what we what we like about the about the program is the rigorous approach to selection of these businesses so that  there is an assurance that once they receive the financial support that it is going to be put to good use in terms of building their competitiveness, enhancing their product development and innovation so that they can successfully trade in the domestic market, the regional market and the international market.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.