Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Economic response for MSMEs launched | $6.5M ready for struggling businesses

Economic response for MSMEs launched | $6.5M ready for struggling businesses

Micro, small and medium-sized business that have been facing difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic can now apply for financial aid from the Government of the Virgin Islands.

The $6.5 million economic stimulus for that sector was launched on Tuesday as part of government’s overall $65 million COVID-19 economic response plan.

“Your overnment recognises that COVID-19 has caused, and continues to cause significant economic impacts on workers and on businesses. That is why we put forward those initiatives to help our people to get through this pandemic,” Junior Minister for Trade & Economic Development Shereen Flax-Charles said at the virtual launching ceremony this week.

“One of the initiatives is the Small Business Sector Grant Relief Programme that was established for the purpose of assisting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, in meeting their operational expenditure while stimulating economic activity by facilitating the circulation of money within the territory.”

The Junior Minister said the grant was approved on June 17 and will be funded by the Social Security Board.

Flax-Charles also said MSMEs comprise more than 90 percent or about 3,600 businesses in the territory.

“From the various administrative records and survey results, it has become evident within the past few months, with extended periods of low or no revenue due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses became more vulnerable to prolonged economic shocks,” she further said.


Committee

In an effort to facilitate the design and implementation of the programme, Cabinet decided that a committee should be established.

This committee will consist of representatives from the Premier’s Office serving as Chair as well as representatives from the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Trade serving as members.

“This committee has been working to ensure the effective administration and management of the application process for the approval and disbursement of the grants. The first task of the committee was to develop the policy guidelines, along with developing the appropriate application mechanism through which the grant programme will be administered and effectively managed,” Flx-Charles said.

The committee will also be responsible for monitoring and evaluating of the programme to ensure its success by collecting information through participant surveys, focus group discussions and interviews carried out periodically during, and after the implementation period, she stated.

Affected companies can now complete the online application form found on the government’s website and submit it via the same portal.

She said provisions would also be made through the Department of Trade to assist applicants who may have difficulty completing an electronic application form or do not have access to a computer or the internet.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×