RG-T3268 – Support for Business Climate Reforms in Grenada (US$178,800 disbursed– with US$54,210 counterpart financing) (2018-2021)

Counterparts: (i) Ministry of Health, Social Security & International Business; (ii)Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO); and (iii)the Grenada Customs and Excise Division

Objective: To strengthen the capacity of the three public sector institutions cited above that have important roles in implementing a reform agenda to strengthen the enabling business environment in Grenada.

Results: The project financed the digitization of 13,639 business registration records at the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office in Grenada, along with the roll out of reengineered/modernized business processes that improved efficiency. The project also implemented the Advanced Ruling Program for the Customs and Excise Tax Division, enhancing transparency and predictability in customs procedures. Capacity building was also provided to the Customs Appeals Commission, strengthening the dispute resolution process in customs matters. An action plan was developed and implemented which included testing, piloting and troubleshooting of an electronic tool to assist with planning and coordination of business climate reforms. A number of workshops were delivered to increase the capacity of the Ministry of Health, Social Security and International Business in coordinating and promoting business climate reforms in Grenada. Training workshops were also held for CAIPO on digitization of records in preparation for automation and online service.

The intervention reduced the time required to conduct name searches by 40%. Overall, the project reduced the ranking of the Starting a Business Indicator from 82 to 74, and the Distance to the Frontier in that same indicator from 87 to 81. In the indicator related to Trading Across Borders, the ranking for Grenada improved from 131 to 118 and the distance to the frontier improved from 61.52 to 56.

Notwithstanding progress, at the end of the project critical actions were still needed to improve on these results further; these included the enactment of the amendments to the Customs Act, to enable the full implementation of the Advance Ruling regime; and completion and launch of the Customs Appeals Commission website.

RG-T3322 – Technology Extension Services (TES) in the Caribbean (2019-2024)

Objective: Technology Extension Services is a form of innovation policy that sought to accelerate the pace at which Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) “catch up” with more advanced firms by transferring cutting-edge technology. This Caribbean-wide project worked with agri-business, manufacturing, and tourism firms.

Results: This project funded 75 technology audits and assessments for MSMEs, with 50 of the firms also benefiting from partial implementation.

Grenada’s Participation

The Grenadian firm that benefited from this intervention was Seabreeze Hotel Grenada.

RG-T3519 – Experiential Learning of Cluster Development Best Practices in Small and Vulnerable Countries (US$232,540 earmarked and disbursed for Grenada) (2019-2024)

Counterpart in Grenada: Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association (GHTA)

Objective: To enhance the capacity of Business Support Organisations (BSOs) in small and vulnerable Caribbean countries to function as effective Cluster Support Organisations (CSOs), by enabling them to apply the cluster methodology learnt over the past several months. This TC used an experiential learning approach to further institutionalize international best practices in cluster development in Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname. This objective is directly in line with the overall focus of the second phase of the Compete Caribbean program – to ensure lasting change beyond its direct activities by piloting and transferring best-practices in private sector development to national entities.

In Grenada, the aim of this project was to build the production, marketing and export capacity of the Grenada Floriculture Industry through training, the introduction of modern technologies and marketing development.

Results:  The project financed training workshops across several key areas aimed at increasing tropical flower production including tissue culture, improving climate change mitigation measures and reducing environmental impact. This capacity building resulted in the development of a tissue culture lab and the introduction of 14 new product offerings in the cluster. Additionally, the project helped to cement floriculture training as a Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) on “Horticulture”. Having garnered the status of a CVQ, eight persons (6 students from TA Marryshow Community College as well as two Extension Officers from the Ministry of Agriculture) achieved Level 2 certifications for Horticultural Amenities Level 2.

The project also financed training on the implementation of flower farm management plans and two flower arranger workshops (beginner and advanced classes offered) conducted by a renowned Barbadian flower arranger and designer.

The project also funded the development of a website and mobile app aimed at creating a digital marketplace for flower arrangers and growers. Additionally, a marketing development plan was created for the cluster to guide members’ marketing efforts in the years 2023-2025. The plan will help them to identify their target markets and potential areas for expansion. Strategies were also developed to improve and increase visibility of their products and services.

31 businesses benefitted from this project, including 16 women owned firms. A total of 90 people were trained by the project (of which 41 were women).

RG-T3520 – Improving the Business and Innovation Climate and Capacity to Attract Investment in OECS Member Countries (US$112,398 disbursed for Grenada) 2019 – 2023

Counterpart in Grenada: Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO)

Objective: To improve the Business and Investment Climate (BIC) in OECS Member Countries and to increase foreign and local investment.

Results: The project supported the establishment of electronic one-stop-shops for business registration in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines; strengthened agencies responsible for promoting and coordinating Business and Innovation Climate reforms; knowledge management and dissemination; and assessed legislation and drafted recommendations relating to Protecting Minority Investors and Enforcing contracts for OECS member states, including Grenada, and drafted legislation required to enable the operation of the DigiGov platform in Saint Lucia.

In Grenada, the project completed a baseline institutional and legislative gap assessment related to starting a business, created an action plan for automating the registration of businesses, and funded recommendations on legislative and regulatory amendments, and change management activities to support the establishment of the one stop shops for business registration, and various workshops on these topics.

The one stop shop in Grenada however was not fully completed due to the lack of IT resources of the counterpart. However, the digitization of records was completed by project RG-T3268 (see above).

The project also funded the review of the Companies Act in the context of current best practices for protecting minority interests and enforcing contracts. This review resulted in a Legislative Gap Analysis Report and recommended amendments to the legal framework. The Doing Business DTF scores for Grenada improved in “Enforcing Contracts” (from 59.3 to 60.3) over the lifetime of the project.

RG-T3677 – Design and Implementation of a Regional Ag-Tech Pilot Project for the Caribbean (US$83,222 disbursed for Grenada) (2020-2023)

Counterpart in Grenada: Sonover

Objective:  To improve the capacity of public and private sector actors to collaborate in the design and implementation of commercial Ag-Tech solutions (viable technologies and the associated business models) for contributing to the improvement of agriculture sector productivity in the Caribbean.

Results: The project completed a gender-sensitive ag-tech maturity assessment to gather evidence of the types of ag-tech solutions that are sustainable and valued by farmers, agro-processors and other stakeholders in the Caribbean. The report took a deep dive into three key value chains: Fruits and Vegetables, Sauces and Spices and Coffee and Cocoa. The report then assesses sector strategies within Jamaica, Grenada and Guyana while providing an Ag-tech adoption factor assessment with recommendations to foster Ag-tech adoption.

A Regional Ag-Tech challenge was designed and implemented. There were 7 online training sessions held for challenge participants on: Design Thinking, Business Model Canvas, Problem-solution fit, Solution-market fit, Pilot definition, Proposal presentation, Developing a pilot with Agile methodologies. A Scale Up Methodology Training was hosted for the Ag-Tech Challenge Winners. A workshop geared at regional stakeholders to build capacity for the development of future challenges was also hosted. The learning involved the transfer of the lessons learned during the Ag-Tech challenge for similar future projects, including the program scope, challenge definition, participation encouragement, incentive design, participant selection, and participant mentoring. Overall, 11 webinars were delivered, 361 private sector individuals were trained, and 6 pilot interventions were implemented.

In Grenada, this project provided technical assistance to Sonover, an ag-tech company providing a solution for praedial larceny. The project helped Sonover with the development of Watchman, a real-time farm protection solution that makes use of artificial intelligence, sensors and an Internet of Things (IoT) platform to detect and take appropriate actions when people, animals or vehicles are detected. The Watchman node is a solar powered smart camera that uses Artificial Intelligence to perform real time video analysis of footage to identify people, animals and vehicles. This information is then streamed over to SONOVER’s platform that is able to make decisions based on the data. This can be to sound an alarm, notify the police (Predial Larceny Unit) through SONOVER command center, or message the farmer. Overall, a significant achievement was the creation of a Production Candidate, which included the Core, battery, soil mixture, NPK, temperature, and relay modules. These milestones signify substantial progress towards the successful implementation and launch of the Watchman farm protection solution.

During the duration of the project, the project team proactively promoted their farm protection platform by engaging with farmers’ associations, launching a social media campaign, and enrolling 10 early adopters, establishing a strong foundation for its successful launch and adoption. The project actively worked on enhancing security through a police partnership, promoting industry-wide smart farming standards with the National Telecommunications Authority, boosting sales with a comprehensive playbook and farmer education program, and showcasing its capabilities in pilot smart farms at secondary schools, all demonstrating a commitment to ongoing project growth and development.

RG-T4008 – Strengthening the Implementation Capacity of Caribbean Blue Economy Clusters and Value Chains – (US$400,000 earmarked for GNExTT) (2022-ongoing)

Objective: This regional project provides implementation support to 3 Caribbean Blue Economy clusters that were identified and recommended for financing under a 2020 Blue Economy Cluster Call (See RG-T3815). It is also providing support to 1 additional cluster that participated in the call. In Grenada, the project worked with the GNExTT cluster that fishes Atlantic Tuna.

Counterparts in Grenada: GNExTT (the Grenada National Export Traceability Technology Inc.) as a direct counterpart, and the Grenada Fisheries Division within the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Forestry and Marine Resources is an indirect counterpart.

The Grenada GNexTT Cluster is a private partners’ cluster comprising of three entities: two fishing cooperatives – Gouyave Fishermen Cooperative and the Carriacou Fishers Cooperative – and the private business One Skip, which is an experienced fish processing and marketing company with established links to export markets and considerable knowledge and experience in sustainable fisheries’ management.

The objective of this cluster project was to enhance the socio-economic wellbeing of stakeholders in Grenada’s fisheries sector by improving harvesting, operational efficiency and market value of fish products, primarily Yellow Fin Tuna (YFT). Key activities of the project included integrating traceability technology, improving fish quality, upgrading storage facilities and complying with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), with the aim of increasing tuna export value by over US$1.9 million in two years. The cluster aimed to shorten the supply chain by eliminating middlemen and marketing directly to target markets, particularly in the USA, under the “Caribbean Blue” brand. Prior to the support of Compete Caribbean, the cluster had received support from the FAO to undertake a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) pre-assessment, which included a Yellow Fin Tuna (YFT) Fishery Improvement Plan (FIP). This FIP is the first in the Atlantic region and is expected to bring considerable benefits to the fishery sector in Grenada and the region. The gains from this initiative include incremental improvements in the fishery management system and fishing practices, alignment with both MSC and ICCAT requirements and standards, improved access to markets, better prices, increased economic returns to stakeholders, and positive long-term impacts on the environment.

Results: The project facilitated capacity building for future MSC Certification, increased marketing skills, and strengthened governance through training of the cluster leadership and its members (5 workshops, 200 participants). The project initiated progress towards MSC certification through implementation of the C-FIP workplan (https://fisheryprogress.org/fip-profile/grenada-yellowfin-and-bigeye-tuna-longline-troll-dropline). In that regard, a consultancy supported the cluster by helping it to focus on implementing key activities in the C-FIP workplan aimed to advance Grenada’s fisheries industry toward MSC certification. One of these was recommending the components for a national strategy to meet ICCAT standards. This strategy is currently being reviewed/revised by the Government of Grenada for future adoption and implementation.

Other activities included conducting a risk assessment of tuna fishing practices, and performing a bait usage assessment for species like Atlantic herring, flying fish, and swordfish. The project also financed the development of an API for electronic transmission of fishery data and other related applications to enhance the GNExTT Cluster tracing capabilities. This work included the financing of a Fishers’ App, a Consumer App, and a Remote Purchasing App, plus an electronic Food Safety Module.

During the project period, the cluster successfully started exporting tuna loins (a value added product in comparison to whole tuna) directly to US customers avoiding middlemen and thus increasing the gains to Grenada. However, Hurricane Beryl in late June/early July 2024 significantly affected the fishing fleet in Carriacou, depleting catches of YFT. Therefore, despite the progress of the project, the industry faces both crippling natural disasters and a sometimes fragmented and challenging governance environment. This makes the future of the industry insecure, and the sector may need comprehensive additional support in the future if it is to survive and provide tenable and profitable livelihoods for Grenadian fishers.

RG-T4017 – Support to Economic Recovery in the Caribbean through Trade and Investment in Blue Economy (US$61,667) earmarked for Grenada (2022-ongoing)

Counterpart in Grenada: Grenada Investment and Development Corporation (GIDC)

Objective: To increase institutional capacity to attract private sector investment into the Blue Economy (BE) in the Caribbean (Belize, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent and Grenadines) to generate employment, growth, diversification of the economy and to contribute towards the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets.

Results: The project financed Blue Economy FDI promotion strategies and value propositions for Belize and jointly for the three participating OECS countries – Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Saint Lucia. Virtual and in person training workshops were conducted on these strategies which included participation from the Investment Promotion Agencies of the participating countries.

A toolkit to promote gender parity in FDI promotion in the Blue Economy was also completed and disseminated to the participating investment promotion agencies.

A Blue Economy Investment Forum was carried out for OECS beneficiaries in November 2024. The forum sought to attract investment, promote innovative practices, and support economic diversification in the Blue Economy, aligning with regional strategies and global best practices. The initiative was supported by key stakeholders, including the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Compete Caribbean, and GIDC, which had a booth at the event. The forum featured keynote speakers, panel discussions, and interactive features, facilitating dialogue, partnerships, and investment exploration in the Blue Economy. The project’s results included increased website visits, social media engagement, and numerous leads, showcasing the potential of the Blue Economy.

RG-T4003 -Technology Extension Services (TES) in the Caribbean Blue Economy and Essential Services Sectors (US$22,062 disbursed for Grenada) (2021-ongoing)

Objective: To support firms in the blue economy and essential services sectors in the acceleration of technological diffusion, adoption, and upgrading, thus providing support to the Caribbean in diversifying the blue economy and strengthening the delivery of goods and services in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: This project delivered technology extension services to a group of businesses in every country. In addition, the project implemented a supplementary capacity building plan for a sub-group of women-owned businesses with growth potential.

Beneficiaries from Grenada:

1. Caribbean Ocean Seamoss, Herbs and Spices LLC
2. Spice Island DigiContent
3. The Tower Estate

In addition, Green Thumb Growers, a woman-owned business, received technical assistance under the women-owned business specific intervention.