DAGS is reimbursement grant funding facility specifically designed to provide financial assistance to legally registered firms/individuals/Business Support Organisations (BSOs) with the potential to export their products and services. DAGS is a reimbursement facility which means that no monies are advanced to beneficiaries and they will  have to incur the full cost of their projects and be reimbursed on completion of their projects. A grant may not be awarded retrospectively. The objective of DAGS is as follows:

• Opening new markets; increasing exports to the Caribbean Region and/or other International Markets
• Lowering production costs
• Identifying new sources of supply for raw materials or other inputs
• Increasing productivity through training and personnel development
• Facilitating Trade Mark, Intellectual Property and Copyright Protection
• Reducing environmental impact
• Capitalising on the benefits of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), CARICOM Single Market Economy (CSME), CARICOM-Dominican Republic FTA or any other bilateral or multilateral arrangements signed by the region within the region or with ACP or EU partners
• Fostering intra-regional cooperation to enhance productivity and capitalise on economies of scale
• Promoting programmes which will impact on underdeveloped areas or disadvantage sectors within the region (e.g. rural area development and gender)

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible for a grant, applicants must:

i.            Be a firm (i.e. entity, individual or company) legally registered and operating in a CARIFORUM member state; or

ii.            Be a legally registered Business Support Organization (BSOs) in a CARIFORUM member state partnering with at least two (2) private sector firms;

iii.            Be firms trading and operational for at least two (2) years supported by last two years financial statements/accounts (no start-ups);

iv.            Be able to finance and sustain their projects fully at the beginning; that is 100% financing is available prior to project initiation; and

v.            Be exporting or demonstrate their potential to export goods and services.

Eligible Projects

Applicants may seek funding for any of the following projects, this list is for guidance only and is not exhaustive:

• Equipment modernization
• Food safety standards/certification/regulations
• Research, Development and Innovation
• Advisory services
• Product and service development
• Marketing services and activities (e.g. trade fairs participation, trade mission and in-market activities)
• Quality and environmental systems
• Promotional material (e.g. brochures, catalogues, CDs and videos)
• Training programmes
• Implementation of IT solutions (e.g. website, e-commerce and multimedia)
• Market research and testing
• Packaging, design
• Intellectual Property activities (e.g. brand registration and patents)

Funding Amounts Available

• Regular Procedures – Maximum €30,000
• Accelerated Procedures Maximum €5,000
• No grant reimbursement may exceed 70% (€30,000 for the Regular Procedures or €5,000 for the Accelerated Procedures) of the total project cost.
• Applicants must finance their projects from their own resources or their partners.
•  Financing may not be awarded retrospectively for projects initiated prior to the award of a grant.