27 Green Entrepreneurs Awarded Interest-Free Loans under the Eastern Caribbean Greenpreneurs Accelerator Program
Media Release Courtesy GGGI
April 9, 2024 — The Eastern Caribbean Green Entrepreneurship Initiative announced the selection of 27 green entrepreneurs as recipients of interest-free loans totaling USD 863,403. Under the Initiative’s Accelerator Program, these entrepreneurs were chosen from a competitive pool of applicants to receive funding and support to grow their respective green, sustainable enterprises.
The Initiative, delivered by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in partnership with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) with support from the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), aimed to nurture and empower environmentally conscious businesses, fostering sustainable development across the region.
This regional program was dedicated to facilitating the development, establishment, and expansion of innovative green enterprises across six OECS Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The Accelerator Program is designed to propel high-potential green enterprises during their growth phase. By providing access to interest-free loans of up to USD 50,000, along with investment opportunities and ongoing education, the program equips entrepreneurs to scale their businesses for maximum profitability and societal benefit.
“With each interest-free loan granted to green enterprises in the Eastern Caribbean, we're not just investing in businesses; we're investing in a greener, more sustainable future. Congratulations to all recipients; your dedication paves the way for innovation and environmental stewardship in our region." - Daniel Muñoz-Smith, Caribbean Representative, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
The three-year Eastern Caribbean Green Entrepreneurship Initiative concluded on March 31, 2024. The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Competitive Business Unit (CBU) will continue to engage stakeholders and share knowledge about the Initiative and other green entrepreneurship opportunities.
The entrepreneurs awarded interest-free loans are:
# | Team Lead | Enterprise Name | Industry | Country of Operation | Brief Business Description |
1 | Shelly-Ann Meade | Little Zion | Tourism; Agriculture | Dominica | Lime Rocks Enterprises Ltd, trading as Little Zion is a sustainable agro-tourism company which owns and operates an agro-tourism estate. Little Zion’s operations are characterised by the exclusive use of renewable energy; a focus on green job creation; and sustainable building design practices. |
2 | Denell Florius | EcoCarib Inc. | Renewable Energy | Saint Lucia | EcoCarib is a full Energy Services Company (ESCO) that designs, installs, maintains and finances solar photovoltaic systems. EcoCarib has proprietary designing and financing tools which are used to ensure that the customer gets the best energy deal possible. Additional services include investment grade energy audits, energy management and energy efficiency, as well as electric vehicle charging. |
2 | Kimya Glasgow | Kimya Glasgow Inc | Fashion; Circular Economy | Saint Vincent & the Grenadines | Kimya Glasgow Inc. is a slow fashion and lifestyle brand that uses organic, natural, and sustainable fibres in its manufacturing to minimize environmental impact and promote responsible consumption. It supports women-owned factories to empower women in manufacturing and promote gender equality. |
4 | Jimmy James Clavier | Superior Catering | Food and Beverage | Saint Lucia | Superior Catering is a catering company, focused on farm-to-table food solutions. While featuring foods from local and organic sources, Superior Catering aims to limit its energy consumption and increase its recycling initiatives. The company also operates a Micro-Farm. |
4 | Mitra Cazaubon | Narrow Way Life | Tourism | Saint Lucia | Narrow Way Life is a Holistic Health, and Sustainable Lifestyle Center providing consultations, eco-friendly home construction, solar and rain harvesting installation services, regenerative farming lectures, health lectures, farm tours and retreats. |
6 | Christopher Wyatt | Green Design and Construction Solutions Inc. | Construction | Saint Lucia | Green Design and Construction Solutions Inc. (GDCS Inc) is a professional service provider with a focus on nature-based solutions and sustainable infrastructure design for flood mitigation, slope protection, coastal protection, watershed management, sustainable drainage systems. It also works on innovations in agricultural production and green energy generation. |
7 | Minerva Gaskin | Divine & Events Catering Services | Food and Beverage | Saint Kitts & Nevis | Divine & Events Catering Services uses an eco-friendly farm to fork model in its catering operations – half of the ingredients used are locally or sustainably sourced. The company minimises waste through composting and supplying biofuel. It creates jobs by predominantly employing women. |
8 | Marla Nathania Foster | Quench Inc. | Water | Saint Lucia | Quench Inc. sells insulated stainless steel water bottles and premium bottle-less water dispensers. It was created to encourage personal wellness by educating children on the benefits of water consumption, while reducing the usage of plastic water bottles in order to curb plastic pollution and reduce the island's carbon footprint. |
9 | Namayombo Mgonela | Namara's Café | Food and Beverage | Saint Kitts & Nevis | Namara's Café is a restaurant based on sustainable operations that prioritise green energy, waste minimisation and community engagement. Namara’s aims to become a solar-powered operation that addresses food waste and empowers its community through cake decoration training. |
10 | Janelle Germain | Efresco | Food and Beverage | Saint Lucia | Efresco is a café and restaurant with a focus on the sustainable production of local food, using produce grown from the owner's farm, as well as other local farmers and suppliers. The business intends to launch its agro-processing line of green banana pasta, salad dressing, chutneys and blended seasoning. Efresco minimises food waste by making food fresh to order and by donating to the less fortunate in instances of excess production. |
11 | Quincy Bart | Nevility farms | Agriculture | Saint Kitts & Nevis | Nevility Farms utilises a green business model to enhance climate resilience, reduce its environmental impact and promote conservation. It uses water-efficient technologies, composting, recycling materials and solar energy in order to minimise its carbon footprint. |
12 | Rebekah Kasha Ragbersingh | Buttercup House Rentals | Tourism | Grenada | ButterCupHouse Rentals is a family-owned and operated apartment rental business which aims to provide quality and affordable accommodations to guests. One of ButterCupHouse’s goals is reducing its carbon footprint by developing green a space and garden for guests, focusing on soil conservation, and utilising energy efficient appliances. |
13 | Terri Henry | Bee Natural | Apiculture; Beauty and Personal Care | Dominica | Bee Natural is a business specialising in creating value-added products from the beehive. Its current range of deodorants, lip balms, body balms, body butters, candles and soaps all use local Dominican beeswax. Bee Natural also runs a bee garden tour for both locals and visitors to learn more about bees and preserving the habitats for all pollinators. |
14 | Helen Lunkenheimer-Patterson | FRUITION | Food and Beverage | Grenada | FRUITION is a family-owned agro-processing and apiculture business whose mission is to use Grenada’s bountiful agriculture to produce premium health oriented food and beverage products in a fair and sustainable way. It produces premium artisanal Kombucha, pure raw honey, honeycomb, and beeswax. FRUITION practices recycling and works directly with local businesses. |
15 | Lana Athanaze | Éclat Nova Luxuries | Beauty and Personal Care | Dominica | Éclat Nova Luxuries is a sustainable brand specialising in the production of handmade, luxury, botanical skincare and eco-living include botanical soaps, aromatherapy candles, and corporate & personal gift packages. These items are provided at both retail and wholesale scales. |
16 | John Wuilliez | Grow Compost Factory Ltd | Waste Management | Antigua & Barbuda | Grow Compost Factory operates on a small "backyard" scale with the intent to develop into a commercial-scale composting facility. |
17 | Eniye Kagbala | CARIB-BEANS Superfoods Coffee House | Food and Beverage | Saint Vincent & the Grenadines | CARIB-BEANS is a specialist Coffee House and Superfoods Café, focused on providing healthy, nutritional beverages and food items that aim to ‘change the perception’ of plant-based food. |
18 | Vicky Smith | Montete Cottages | Tourism | Saint Lucia | Montete Cottages is an eco-friendly accommodation located on an estate on 4 hectares of land. Providing vacation homes for foreigners and locals where guests can explore the farm, pick fruits and feed animals, among other activities. |
19 | Patrick Uchenna Eze | Eze Green Energy Company Limited | Renewable Energy | Saint Lucia | Eze Green Energy Company (EGEC) is a manufacturer and/or producer of renewable energy products. Eze Green Energy Company Biodiesel Production Operations (EGEC-BDPO) is a biodiesel production section of Eze Green Energy Company (EGEC) established to provide a solution for St. Lucia’s waste vegetable oil generating industries using green tech recovery, recycling and waste oil management methodologies. |
20 | Nathaniel Henderson Williams | West Indies Botanicals Ltd. | Food and Beverage | Antigua & Barbuda | West Indies Botanicals is a Caribbean-based health and wellness company registered in Antigua & Barbuda that seeks to address the rising levels of communicable diseases and poor nutritional intake becoming more prevalent in the region by utilizing superfoods and botanical materials that are indigenous to the Caribbean and LATAM. |
21 | Jermine Mike | Mother Becky Bush Tea | Food and Beverage | Saint Kitts & Nevis | Mother Becky Bush Tea is an agro-processing and beverage business which offers high-quality herbal tea products highlighting locally grown ingredients and the tradition of Caribbean bush tea to residents, tourists, and the Kittitian and Nevisian diaspora. |
22 | Catherine Sealys | Business Services Plus | Imports | Saint Lucia | Business Services Plus specializes in sourcing and importing high quality and affordable goods for government agencies, private sector businesses and regional organizations. |
23 | Violet Clarke | Llewellyn's Manufacturing Company. | Food and Beverage | Saint Kitts & Nevis | The business has developed a niche market for all natural products, particularly its line of hot sauces offered for both retail and wholesale. The company’s second income stream comes from conducting cooking classes for adults, children and persons with disabilities. |
24 | Bernice Gaspard | Gaspard Agro & Processing Farm | Agriculture | Saint Lucia | Gaspard Agro & Processing Farm has a customer base that extends to local households, farmers, small shops, and larger supermarkets. The farm makes use of inherited agricultural practices that its owner acquired having grown up on a farm. |
25 | Christopher Liburd | The Green Farmacy | Agriculture | Saint Kitts & Nevis | Green Farmacy is an agriculture-based business providing crops, livestock products and farm tours. Green Farmacy was created to provide quality low-chemically grown crops, in addition to naturally fed livestock products such as mutton, rabbit meat and eggs. |
26 | Hasani Williamson | Wills Recycling Ltd | Recycling | Antigua & Barbuda | Wills Recycling seeks to address local environmental challenges by utilising sustainability systems in its reuse and recycling operations. Issues of concern for Wills Recycling range from pollution, disposal of plastics, metal waste, and e-waste, among others. |
27 | Bevon Chadel Charles | Akata Farms | Agriculture | Grenada | Akata Farms is a self-sustainable diversified farm designed to produce sustainably, creating revenue driven linkages with agriculture and Tourism, youth and technology and innovation with the use of climate smart techniques, hydroponics, greenhouses, vertical systems, subsistence, regenerative sustainable farming. |
For more information on the Eastern Caribbean Green Entrepreneurship Initiative, please visit our online platforms, including Facebook (GGGI Caribbean) and Twitter (GGGI Caribbean), or our website at www.caribbeangreenpreneurs.com.
About the GGGI
With 48 Member States, GGGI is an intergovernmental organisation that supports developing country governments' transition to a model of economic growth that is environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive. GGGI delivers programs in over 40 partner countries with technical support, capacity building, policy planning and implementation, and by helping to build a pipeline of bankable green investment projects. More on GGGI’s events, projects, and publications can be found at www.gggi.org. You can also follow GGGI on Twitter and join us on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is a Member of GGGI as a regional body. In the Caribbean, this membership allows GGGI to work in close partnership with the OECS Commission at the regional level, as well as directly with the governments of the 11 OECS member states at the national level. GGGI maintains an embedded staff presence at OECS headquarters in Saint Lucia and to date has delivered programs in partnership with the governments of Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Lucia. Further information can be found at www.caribbeangreenpreneurs.com and https://www.gggi.org/country/caribbean
Dinesh Daswani
OECS Communications Unit