The creative community in the Caribbean is being afforded the opportunity to access funding through financing provided by The Cultural and Creative Indus-tries Innovation Fund (CIIF), which is administered by the Caribbean Development Bank. (CDB).
Established with an initial US$2.6 million from the Bank and now functioning as a multi-donor fund the facility seeks to respond to what is regarded as the need for a reliable financing regime sufficiently resilient to provide creative entrepreneurship in the region. The Fund has been established against the backdrop that the cultural and creative industries sector in the Caribbean is a significant economic driver and has the potential to bring the same kinds of returns to the region.
This week the CDB issued a region-wide invitation to the creative sectors to submit grant proposals to the CIIF for funding to develop their craft. The Bank says that the funding is currently being offered under the “improving competitiveness of creative micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in grant categories that allow for two new grants offering up to US$50,000 each in funding.
The CDB says that the Fund is also inviting proposals for the creation of a “digital platform to support the fashion, visual arts and contemporary design and craft sectors in the Caribbean through e-commerce, access to resources and value chain integration”.
The Fund, which was originally launched in 2017 seeks to provide support and is earmarked to help create an enabling environment for the development of creative industries and enhancing the technical capacity of creative entrepreneurs.
The CDB’s interest in receiving applications and draft proposals “that demonstrate a significant measure of innovation, collaboration and sustainability” has led to a February 28th extended deadline for the submission of application.
