Grant Funding for the Intangible, Part 2 – Getting In On the Action

In Part 1, we dug into the reasons that grant funding for intangibles – that is, services, as opposed to goods — isn’t always such an easy catch.  Lucky for you, though, we did a ‘wheel and come again,’ pulling together those juicy grant resources available to Caribbean service providers all in one place.

We’ve kept it simple by breaking down the grant funding options for intangibles into three categories.

Reimbursable Grants – Once you qualify, these grants require you to put the cash and payments upfront for suppliers and equipment needed to boost your business. The proof of purchase is then passed on to the donor who will then reimburse you for all the $$$ you put out. What’s important to note is that this type of grant doesn’t usually cover any cash you spent before entering into an agreement with the donor agency because you can only get reimbursed for approved expenses. Caribbean Exports Direct Assistance Grant Scheme (DAGS), which is available both to suppliers of products and services, is a great resource for companies that don’t mind that cashback boost.

Matching Grants – Just show them what you got and they’ll match it! Some grants will meet you halfway by covering 50% of the costs of any of the approved expenses that your business incurs. These grants yet again require you to have some cash up-front. Link Caribbean has a host of Co-investment Funding facilities that service providers can take advantage of.

Hybrid – Then there are those grants that offer a mixed or tiered approach to their financing facilities.  You would be awarded different amounts of funding from the donor at different stages of the project. For example, you might receive 50% funding coverage at the R & D stage, but then 75% at the commercialization stage.  The RDF Grant (Research and Development Facility) and IDB Lab are excellent resources that have helped countless services providers throughout the region take their services to the next level. These grants may only be available to applicants from specific sectors like the Cultural and Creative Industries, so be sure to keep an eye out for those.

So now that you’ve got all the juicy details, what are you waiting for?

Happy Grant-Funding Hunting!