Ninety-five micro, small and medium-sized businesses have received a combined $788,000 in financial assistance through the Belize Enterprise Empowerment Project (BEEP), which concluded with a closing ceremony on Friday.
BELTRAIDE relaunched BEEP in August 2024, replacing the former Belize Enterprise Revolving Fund. The initiative was developed in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Fund to address the financing needs of growing enterprises.
Monique Usher, Deputy Executive Director of the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE), said the 95 beneficiaries received more than financial assistance.
“They have successfully received capacity building, business advisor services and finance through the BEEP program,” Usher said..
The programme targeted three categories of businesses: start-ups, maturing enterprises and businesses preparing to export.
BEEP also targeted businesses in the creative industries. “We have persons that are artisans, we have persons that offer services, whether it’s floral arrangement, funeral services, we have persons that offer digital marketing services, product-based businesses also,” Usher said.
Usher said BEEP was designed to address gaps in business training and help entrepreneurs formalise their operations.
“We did tailored business advisor training that perhaps businesses have been in operation for years, have not had any formal capacity building initiative and so we’ve looked at addressing that deficiency,” she said.
The programme also brought together businesses at different stages of growth, giving start-ups and established entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn from one another.
“It’s also an opportunity for them to share, learn about the entrepreneurial journey for each of their fellow enterprises,” Usher said.
