Carib Scope

分类： business

  • BERGER Paints and TDC Home and Building Depots Team Up to Give Customers An Exciting CPL Experience

    BERGER Paints and TDC Home and Building Depots Team Up to Give Customers An Exciting CPL Experience

    As the 2026 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) brings top-tier regional cricket talent and high-stakes matches to St. Kitts and Nevis, two leading local brands have partnered to turn customer loyalty into an unforgettable sports experience for local shoppers.

    BERGER Paints, a global and regional leader in paint and coating products, has joined forces with TDC Home and Building Depots, the Federation’s prominent home improvement retailer, to launch the “WIN with BERGER and CPL” promotion. Running from August 3 to August 21, 2026, the campaign invited customers purchasing two or more gallons of eligible BERGER Paints products — via cash or credit — at any TDC Home and Building Depot location across St. Kitts and Nevis to automatically enter a drawing for exclusive CPL match access.

    Four lucky shoppers were selected as promotion winners, each earning pair of tickets to attend CPL home matches hosted at the iconic Warner Park Sporting Complex. Beyond match entry, each winner also received custom branded promotional merchandise from the two partner brands, letting fans cheer on the home team SKN Patriots or their favorite CPL franchise while showing off their prize.

    For attendees, the prize delivers access to the electric, passion-fueled atmosphere that defines top-tier Caribbean cricket, a beloved cultural institution across the region. For the partnering brands, the collaboration is designed to deliver added value to loyal customers while tying into local cultural celebration.

    “We are excited to partner with BERGER Paints on this initiative to reward our patrons for their continued business, especially through the excitement of sport,” said Iston Williams, General Manager of TDC’s St. Kitts Home and Building Depot. “We are always looking for ways to create added value for our customers, and this is yet another way for us to combine quality products, great savings and the excitement of Caribbean cricket.”

    Ria Mosodeen, BERGER Paints Market Development Manager, echoed the enthusiasm for the cross-sector partnership, noting the deep cultural connection of cricket to communities across the Caribbean. “Cricket is a major part of Caribbean culture, and we are delighted to connect with consumers to celebrate the game while bringing colour and vibrancy to their homes and offices,” Mosodeen said.

    The joint promotion highlights how consumer-facing brands can integrate popular local cultural events to create engaging, mutually beneficial experiences for both companies and their customers, reinforcing both brands’ commitments to putting customer experience first in the St. Kitts and Nevis market.

  • BEL Owes CFE More Than Thirty Million Dollars

    BEL Owes CFE More Than Thirty Million Dollars

    As of September 2, 2026, Belize’s primary electricity provider, Belize Electricity Limited (BEL), is confronting mounting financial and operational challenges that have put the nation’s power supply in the national spotlight. In a recent disclosure, BEL Executive Chairman Lynn Young confirmed that the state-owned utility owes more than $30 million to Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), its cross-border energy supplier, and has already drawn on multiple government-backed interventions to cover partial payment obligations.

    Local reporters have since pressed Prime Minister John Briceño to disclose the full cumulative amount of taxpayer funds that his administration has injected into BEL to keep the grid operational. However, Briceño declined to share a specific total, framing government support not as a bailout, but as a strategic investment in a critical public asset.

    In his remarks, Briceño drew a parallel between supporting BEL and repairing a broken taxi engine: rather than abandoning the vehicle, owners invest to fix it to keep it running. He explained that global energy price hikes have driven up procurement costs significantly, and the government has chosen to absorb these increased costs instead of passing them directly onto residential and commercial consumers across Belize. Looking ahead, the Prime Minister noted that the investment will lay the groundwork for a transition to cheaper solar energy, with several private renewable energy firms already in negotiations with BEL to bring new solar capacity online within six to 12 months at rates far below current imported power costs.

    Beyond its mounting debt, BEL is also warning of an imminent power supply gap that could destabilize the national grid within the next 12 months. The utility reports that growing domestic electricity demand is now approaching the country’s total available generation capacity, creating a urgent need to secure additional emergency power supplies. To speed up this procurement process, BEL has formally requested that the government declare a national energy emergency.

    The request is still working its way through official regulatory channels. Dr. Leroy Almendarez, CEO of Belize’s Ministry of Public Utilities, outlined the structured approval process required before any emergency procurement can move forward. Before Cabinet can issue an emergency declaration, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the nation’s independent energy regulator, must first complete a full review of BEL’s request. If Cabinet approves the declaration, the PUC will then issue a formal order authorizing BEL to launch emergency power procurement, with full regulatory oversight to ensure transparency and accountability throughout supplier selection and negotiation. Almendarez emphasized that BEL cannot unilaterally select suppliers or enter into contracts without regulatory approval, addressing concerns about lack of oversight in emergency processes. For any projected power shortfall that extends beyond the initial emergency period, Almendarez added that additional stakeholder consultations will be held at the appropriate time.

    This report is a transcribed version of an evening television newscast focused on Belize’s current energy landscape.

  • EBS verhoogt tarieven voor kookgas per 1 september

    EBS verhoogt tarieven voor kookgas per 1 september

    On September 1, 2026, N.V. Energiebedrijven Suriname (EBS), Suriname’s national energy utility, rolled out the latest quarterly scheduled adjustment to domestic propane cooking gas tariffs, implementing targeted price increases that exclusively affect two common cylinder formats, the company confirmed in an official announcement.

    Under the new pricing structure, the cost of a 28-pound propane cylinder will rise from 508 Surinamese dollars (SRD) to SRD 535. Per the current ministerial decree governing the tariff adjustment program, this marks the final scheduled price increase for this cylinder size. For the 14-kilogram composite cylinder, the tariff will climb from SRD 530 to SRD 556.50, with one additional incremental adjustment set to take effect on December 1, 2026 before pricing reaches its final level.

    These incremental price hikes are a core component of a national policy launched in 2023 to phase out long-standing government subsidies on cooking gas. The framework for the gradual subsidy drawdown was jointly agreed and formalized in August 2023 by Suriname’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation (EZOTI) and the Ministry of Natural Resources (NH), and was codified in Ministerial Decree No. 1099/23 dated August 31, 2023.

    The Surinamese government designed the phased tariff adjustment approach to gradually align domestic cooking gas prices with the actual market-based cost of production and distribution, rather than relying on large one-off price shocks that would disproportionately impact household budgets. According to EBS, this transition is a critical step toward securing a long-term sustainable, uninterrupted, and reliable supply of cooking gas for consumers across the country.

    Not all propane products will see further price increases under the current regulatory scheme, EBS emphasized. All other gas products have already reached their final tariff levels under the subsidy phase-out program, and no additional hikes are planned for these SKUs for the remainder of the current regulatory framework. The products with locked-in final pricing are: 20-pound cylinders at SRD 369.24, 40-pound cylinders at SRD 699.98, bulk gas at SRD 18.90 per liter, 10-kilogram composite cylinders at SRD 400, and 22-kilogram composite cylinders at SRD 880.

  • New Hotel Tax; Is Belize Pricing Itself Out of Tourism?

    New Hotel Tax; Is Belize Pricing Itself Out of Tourism?

    As Belize’s government moves forward with a long-discussed plan to raise hotel accommodation taxes, the country’s $20 billion annual tourism trade is facing growing uncertainty, with industry stakeholders warning that the policy could price the small Caribbean nation out of the budget and mid-range travel market.

    The proposal, first floated more than two years ago, would lift the existing 9% hotel tax to 12.5%, a nearly 39% jump that industry leaders argue would deter price-sensitive travelers already weighing competing Caribbean destinations with lower pricing structures. Even the country’s own Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler has openly cast doubt on the timing of the increase, while acknowledging the urgent need for new revenue to address a mounting ecological threat that is crippling Belize’s coastal tourism economy.

    Mahler, who has advocated for years for government investment in tourism infrastructure, confirmed that the tax proposal has gone through multiple rounds of negotiations across public and private sector groups, including direct talks between private tourism operators, the Ministry of Finance, and the Prime Minister’s office that proceeded without formal participation from the Belize Tourism Board (BTB). All parties have been aware of the impending policy change for months, Mahler said, but he has personally shared his opposition to the current timeline with both the Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA) and the Belize Hotel Association (BHA).

    At the core of the debate over funding is the growing crisis of sargassum, a large brown algae that has inundated Belize’s pristine coastlines – the primary draw for millions of international tourists annually. The algae smothers beaches, drives away visitors, and has caused irreversible damage to the coastal communities that form the backbone of Belize’s tourism product. Mahler explained that the government has framed the tax increase as a way to generate funding for sargassum mitigation efforts, which currently drain the majority of the BTB’s existing annual budget.

    “Right now, we need about $20 million worth of specialized equipment to effectively fight the sargassum invasion,” Mahler said in comments included in a televised government briefing. “We don’t have large dedicated vessels like Mexico and other neighboring countries that can clear massive algae blooms quickly. We are currently losing this battle, and almost all of the funding for mitigation work has come from the Belize Tourism Board, not any other government body.”

    Mahler added that the ongoing drain of BTB resources toward sargassum cleanup is already undermining core tourism development priorities: expanding international air lift capacity, global marketing campaigns to attract high-value visitors, and workforce training programs to improve service quality across the industry. The minister stressed that regardless of when the tax increase goes into effect, the government must commit to reinvesting 100% of the new tax revenue into the infrastructure and services the tourism sector needs to retain its competitive edge in the crowded Caribbean travel market.

    Industry groups have echoed Mahler’s concerns, arguing that without a guaranteed reinvestment commitment and a more strategic timing aligned with global travel demand trends, the tax hike will lead to lower occupancy rates, reduced revenue for hoteliers and local tourism businesses, and ultimately fewer overall tax receipts for the government, defeating the policy’s core goal.

  • Lower taxes could make island‑hopping affordable again – experts

    Lower taxes could make island‑hopping affordable again – experts

    The Caribbean, a region defined by scattered island nations, has long struggled with a cycle of unstable intra-regional air connectivity marked by frequent airline failures, exorbitant travel costs, and inconsistent service. Now, two seasoned aviation industry professionals have put forward a comprehensive, multi-pronged proposal that they argue could upend long-standing structural issues, slash ticket prices for regional travelers, and unlock broad-based economic growth across the bloc.

    The proposal comes from Captain Don Chee-A-Tow, an aviation consultant and France’s Honorary Consul to Barbados, and Paul Gravel, managing director of SVG Air, Grenadine Airways, and OECS Aircraft Maintenance. Their joint report, dated August 10 and obtained by Barbados TODAY, will be distributed to all Caribbean regional governments to catalyze policy action. At the core of their recommendations is an urgent call for fiscal reform: cutting airport usage fees, security charges, and passenger taxes specifically for legitimate intra-regional flights. The experts argue that these high cumulative costs have artificially suppressed passenger demand and left regional carriers unable to compete effectively, so downward adjustment would stimulate travel and boost the sector’s overall viability.

    Beyond fiscal changes, the experts are pushing for a fundamental reclassification of regional aviation by all Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states, including Barbados. They contend that regional air connectivity is just as critical to economic function as core infrastructure like seaports, national highways, and telecommunications networks, and should be formally recognized as such by governments. Efficient air links underpin nearly every major sector across the Caribbean, from tourism and cross-border commerce to emergency healthcare access, post-secondary education, foreign direct investment, and disaster response resilience, they noted.

    To address long-standing bureaucratic bottlenecks, the report urges regional policymakers to allocate additional funding and resources to local civil aviation authorities. This investment would speed up core administrative processes including aircraft registrations, license validations, and safety certifications, eliminating unnecessary delays that have hampered carrier operations for years.

    A key pillar of the plan focuses on building a self-sufficient regional aviation workforce. The experts propose establishing a well-funded dedicated regional aviation academy to train new pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, and other core aviation professionals. Currently, most Caribbean aviation workers rely on costly overseas training programs; a local academy would create a steady pipeline of skilled local talent and reduce the sector’s dependence on foreign training institutions.

    On the financing front, Chee-A-Tow, a former pilot for defunct regional carrier LIAT, and Gravel are calling for collaborative action from leading regional financial institutions including the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), alongside national governments, local commercial banks, and international development partners. The group should work together to create new, accessible financing frameworks tailored to the needs of regional carriers, they say. Possible mechanisms include partial credit guarantee schemes, dedicated aircraft financing facilities, development-focused lending programs, regional aircraft leasing initiatives, and structured risk-sharing agreements with commercial lenders. The report notes that these tools would lower the risk for lending institutions while allowing regional operators to invest in newer, safer, more fuel-efficient aircraft that cut long-term operating costs and improve environmental sustainability.

    The experts also back strategic industry consolidation, arguing that the current fragmented market of multiple small undercapitalized carriers is unsustainable. They recommend that governments support the emergence of a smaller number of larger, better-capitalized regional airline groups that can achieve economies of scale, improve fleet utilization rates, and build stronger financial resilience to weather market volatility.

    Additional recommendations include accelerating fleet modernization, developing shared regional centers of aviation excellence, introducing targeted public service obligation (PSO) programs for unprofitable but socially important routes, strengthening cross-carrier commercial cooperation, and reducing unnecessary political interference in airline operations.

    For fleet modernization, the experts urge encouraging investment in modern aircraft sized appropriately for the small passenger volumes common to Caribbean regional routes. These aircraft deliver lower operating costs, better fuel efficiency, lower carbon emissions, and more reliable service than aging fleets currently operated by many regional carriers. Where practical, the report also encourages fleet standardization to cut maintenance, training, and spare parts inventory costs.

    To maximize the use of limited regional resources and improve operational efficiency, governments should collaborate to build shared regional facilities for aircraft maintenance, pilot training, engineering education, and technical support, the proposal adds. For thin routes that are critical for connecting small island communities but not financially viable for carriers, the experts recommend transparent targeted PSO programs that provide public support to maintain service, rather than forcing airlines to absorb ongoing losses that threaten their long-term survival.

    To boost commercial integration across the sector, the report recommends expanding interline ticketing agreements between carriers, coordinating flight schedules to improve connections, offering through-ticketing for multi-leg journeys, and building formal partnerships with regional tourism boards, hotel groups, and cruise line operators to stimulate passenger demand and improve the end-to-end traveler experience.

    On the topic of political interference, the authors note that sustainable airline operations require long-term business strategy and sound financial management, rather than decision-making driven by short-term political objectives. They argue that professionalizing corporate governance frameworks and prioritizing business-focused decision-making can reduce unnecessary political meddling while preserving critical regional connectivity that serves public needs.

    In closing, the experts emphasized that the Caribbean’s unique geography of scattered island nations makes efficient regional air travel an absolute necessity for regional integration and development. They noted that the repeated cycle of new airline launches, followed by financial distress and eventual collapse that has plagued the region for decades is not caused by a lack of passenger demand. Instead, it stems from structural challenges that have gone unaddressed for generations.

    By implementing the full set of recommended reforms – from recognizing aviation as critical economic infrastructure and strengthening regulatory capacity to rebuilding local training programs, improving access to affordable financing, encouraging strategic consolidation, modernizing fleets, and reducing political interference – Caribbean governments and regional institutions can build a far more resilient, commercially sustainable regional air transport system. A stronger aviation network will not only benefit airlines, the report concludes. It will deliver widespread, long-lasting economic and social benefits to all Caribbean citizens by improving trade, expanding tourism, enhancing healthcare and education access, strengthening disaster response, boosting investment, and deepening regional integration.

  • PSV sector cashless bus pilot in three weeks

    PSV sector cashless bus pilot in three weeks

    Barbados is on the cusp of a major modernization push for its public transit network, with a long-awaited digital payment pilot program for public service vehicles (PSVs) set to launch within the next two to three weeks. Spearheaded by the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT), the initiative aims to phase out paper ticketing, curb widespread fare fraud that has drained operator revenue for years, and bring the island’s transit system into the digital age.

    Final preparations are currently in full swing, with organizers wrapping up the selection of participating operators ahead of scheduled staff training and equipment installation. Eight PSVs spanning both high-traffic commercial corridors and quieter suburban and rural routes will be outfitted with custom-built automated fare collection hardware to test real-world usability of the system, according to AOPT Chairman Roy Raphael.

    “We have never operated a full cashless system on our public transport before, so this pilot will serve as our introduction to the technology,” Raphael shared in an exclusive interview with Barbados TODAY. “All the system design work is complete, and we are just finalizing the selection of buses for the trial, thanks to our existing partnerships with local transit stakeholders.”

    The first phase of testing will roll out across a diverse slate of routes, including busy city corridors like River Road and Forde’s Road, as well as longer rural routes serving Silver Hill, St Peter, Castle and Bathsheba. This mixed-route selection will allow project leads to collect actionable data on passenger adoption across different use cases, from short daily commutes in urban centers to longer, less frequent trips in rural areas where commuters often face extended wait times between service.

    To address a long-standing regulatory barrier that derailed earlier attempts at mobile-based cashless fare systems, developers designed the new technology to use standalone, onboard validation units mounted directly to each bus, eliminating the need for drivers to handle personal mobile devices while operating their vehicles. Under Barbadian road law, drivers are prohibited from holding mobile devices while behind the wheel, a rule that required a full rework of the system’s hardware.

    “What the development team did was create a dedicated unit that fits right on the bus, roughly the same size as a cell phone,” Raphael explained. “Passengers simply tap or swipe their payment card on the unit, which sends a clear confirmation directly to the driver.”

    The push to accelerate the transition to digital payments comes in response to a persistent, costly issue of fare fraud that has plagued operators relying on traditional cash fare boxes. Raphael confirmed that multiple operators have reported increasing instances of passengers cutting paper banknotes into two separate pieces in an attempt to get two fares for the price of one, leaving operators with damaged, unusable currency and significant revenue losses over time.

    “We are seeing more and more passengers cut $5 bills into two halves, roll up each half separately, and drop them into the fare box to count as two separate full fares,” Raphael revealed. “By the time operators collect and count the cash at the end of the day, they find two partial bills that add up to just one full $5 note.”

    Beyond cutting down on this revenue leakage, Raphael noted that the transition to digital ticketing also aligns with the Barbadian government’s broader national strategy to expand digital financial inclusion and reduce unnecessary paper-based administrative processes across all public services.

    To boost early adoption among commuters who are accustomed to paying with cash, the pilot program will include a range of consumer incentives and flexible journey policies. Passengers who use the new digital payment system will be eligible for rewards programs and discounted fares on multi-leg connected journeys. A time-based transfer policy will allow passengers to switch between participating routes within a two-hour window for no additional charge, and regular users will be entered into drawings for free ride rewards.

    “Our core goal is to draw in commuters who currently rely exclusively on cash payments,” Raphael said. “The more you ride with the digital system, the more opportunities you have to earn rewards. After you tap your card, you may even be selected for an instant win for a free trip.”

    While a handful of final operational details, including processing fee structures and revenue sharing protocols, are still being finalized, AOPT leaders frame the upcoming pilot as a transformative first step toward building a fully automated, cashless public transit network for the entire island.

  • “I’ve Always Opposed New Taxes on the Tourism Industry,” But Here’s Why It’s Needed:

    “I’ve Always Opposed New Taxes on the Tourism Industry,” But Here’s Why It’s Needed:

    In a surprising public address amid mounting industry pushback, Belize’s Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler has broken with his long-held stance against new tourism taxes, backing a planned 3.5 percentage point increase to the country’s hotel accommodation tax that would raise the rate from 9% to 12.5%. The policy, which has been under negotiation for nearly two years, has split government officials and tourism stakeholders, with Mahler acknowledging he has always opposed new levies on the sector even as he argues the hike has become an unavoidable necessity.

    Mahler made his position clear to both the Belize Tourism Industry Association and the Belize Hotel Association, pushing back against speculation that he had championed the tax increase from the start. “I don’t know where that surprise comes from or make it look like that I pushed for this,” Mahler said in his address. “I’ve always opposed new taxes on the tourism industry.”

    For Mahler, the turning point comes not from a push to pad general government coffers, but from an urgent need to protect the tourism sector that drives Belize’s national economy. The country’s coastal tourism hub is facing an escalating, multifaceted crisis driven by massive sargassum blooms that have ravaged shorelines in recent months. The invasive seaweed has created overlapping environmental, public health, and economic threats for coastal communities, dealing a major blow to Belize’s attractiveness as a beach and marine tourism destination.

    Mahler added that the sargassum crisis is not the sector’s only challenge: rising global travel costs and ongoing geopolitical instability have piled extra pressure on Belize’s tourism industry, which relies on healthy coastal ecosystems to draw visitors. Roughly 70% of tourists travel to Belize to participate in marine activities, meaning the state of coastal environments directly determines the country’s competitiveness as a tourism destination.

    To combat the sargassum bloom, Mahler estimates the country needs roughly $20 million in new specialized equipment to manage and remove the seaweed. Until now, most response funding has been drawn from the existing budget of the Belize Tourism Board, stretching the agency’s resources thin.

    Under the government’s current plan, Mahler has secured Cabinet approval to earmark 1.5 percentage points of the 3.5 percentage point tax increase specifically for climate mitigation and environmental response efforts, rather than directing all new revenue to the government’s general budget. Aside from sargassum removal and management, the allocated funds would also address other pressing environmental issues threatening tourism, including river contamination.

    “If we have to get the 3.5 percentage points increase in the hotel tax, then at least put 1.5 percentage points back into the Sargassum fight,” Mahler explained. “So instead of it going into general revenues, at least 1.5 out of that 3.5 could go to climate change mitigation.”

    Despite the government’s plan to direct new funding to industry protection, the proposed tax hike remains deeply contentious among Belize’s tourism stakeholders. Industry leaders warn that raising hotel costs will make Belize less competitive with neighboring top tourist destinations including Cancun, Jamaica, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic, potentially driving away price-sensitive visitors and threatening the long-term success of the country’s tourism sector.

  • Three new categories added to Saint Lucia Business Awards

    Three new categories added to Saint Lucia Business Awards

    Saint Lucia’s vibrant private sector is set to get expanded opportunities to celebrate outstanding entrepreneurial achievement, as organizers formally launched plans for the 12th iteration of the Saint Lucia Business Awards, scheduled to take place on January 30, 2027.

    Hosted collaboratively by the St Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture and the Office of the Prime Minister, the annual gala gathering brings together the island nation’s most promising and accomplished business leaders to honor standout successes from the preceding 12 months. During an official pre-event launch held this Tuesday at Gros Islet’s Harbor Club, organizers revealed the event’s central theme and expanded award lineup, marking a major milestone in preparations for the 2027 ceremony.

    This year’s theme, “The Chrysalis Effect: Metamorphosis into Greatness,” frames business growth as a natural, adaptive process. Organizers explain the concept reflects how intentional evolution and structural transformation help local enterprises build long-term strategic resilience and achieve operational excellence, mirroring the transformative journey of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.

    In a key expansion of the awards program, three entirely new recognition categories have been added for 2027: the Corporate Social Responsibility Award for Small Businesses, the Environmental Stewardship Award for Small Businesses, and the MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) of the Year. The addition expands opportunities for smaller, emerging businesses that have historically had less visibility in the awards program.

    As part of the launch event, organizers also resolved a lingering delay from the previous awards cycle, presenting the belated People’s Choice Award to local enterprise Optimum Cooling. The delay stemmed from an unexpected technical glitch in the public voting platform, prompting the Chamber to rerun the voting process under a commitment to full transparency, ensuring all ballots were fully verified and results were accurate before presenting the honor.

    Speaking to attendees at the launch, Chamber of Commerce President Nicholas Bernard emphasized that the awards fill a critical role in Saint Lucia’s challenging business landscape. He noted that the ceremony goes far beyond handing out trophies: it serves to highlight high-performing businesses and inspirational leaders, while demonstrating to the broader local business community what can be accomplished even amid adversity.

    “Running a business in Saint Lucia is not always easy. We face rising operational costs, increasing competition from both local and international players, persistent challenges in recruiting and retaining skilled talent, rapid technological shifts, and a constantly evolving regulatory and economic environment,” Bernard explained. “Yet despite these headwinds, our local enterprises keep investing, creating jobs, serving local communities, innovating, and finding sustainable paths to growth. That grit and achievement absolutely deserves national recognition.”

    Bernard pointed to the previous year’s awards as a powerful example of the breadth of talent across Saint Lucia’s business ecosystem, with participants representing every sector and every stage of business growth, from long-standing industry leaders to newly launched startups. Past honorees have been recognized across a wide range of criteria, including innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, export growth, customer service, leadership, and community impact.

    For the 2027 cycle, nominations are now open across 15 categories, covering businesses of all sizes and sectors: Corporate Social Responsibility Award – Large Business, Corporate Social Responsibility Award – Small Business, Environmental Stewardship Award – Large Business, Environmental Stewardship Award – Small Business, Award for Service Excellence, Employer of the Year Award, Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Export Achievement of the Year Award, New Business of the Year Award, Not-for-Profit Organisation of the Year Award, Young Professional of the Year Award, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise (MSME) of the Year, Business of the Year Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, People’s Choice Award, The Prime Minister’s Award for Innovation, and Judges’ Choice Award.

  • First VAT-free weekend: Rush, relief and lessons for next round

    First VAT-free weekend: Rush, relief and lessons for next round

    Grenada’s inaugural two-day VAT-free shopping initiative, held August 28-28 as a core component of the national Cost of Living Assistance Programme, delivered a noticeable surge in commercial activity across the country, while also exposing unanticipated challenges related to transportation infrastructure, public awareness of eligibility rules, and potential price manipulation ahead of the event. The government has already scheduled two additional VAT-free weekends for late September and October, and is currently collecting public and stakeholder feedback to refine the policy ahead of the next rounds.

    The temporary 0% Value Added Tax policy only applies to qualifying goods sold at registered, VAT-compliant businesses, with pre-existing zero-rated products excluded from the additional relief. As retailers across the main island of Grenada and the smaller island of Carriacou prepared for the expected rush, many reported far higher foot traffic and sales volumes than standard weekends, even as operational issues tested their planning.

    At Foodland Supermarket located in St. George’s Market Square, manager Elon Regis shared that the outlet invested heavily in pre-event preparation, bringing in roughly 25 staff to restock shelves the Thursday before the initiative launched, with teams returning after closing on Friday to prepare for the second day. The event got off to a delayed start however, when an internet and server outage disrupted the technical systems required to process VAT-free transactions. Even after resolving the issue and extending operating hours to recoup lost time, persistent gaps in public transit service left many shoppers stranded late in the evening. “Stores open, but where is the bus?” Regis noted, explaining that many potential late purchases were abandoned due to the lack of transportation, though the gap did create unexpected extra business for local taxi operators, who stepped in to offer rides at competitive rates for both customers and staff. Regis added that the event drove a clear shift in consumer behavior, with many shoppers holding off on non-urgent purchases in the weeks leading up to the weekend to take advantage of the tax break, while others stocked up on bulk goods they had planned to delay purchasing for months.

    Local law enforcement at St. George’s Melville Street Bus Terminal confirmed severe congestion throughout the weekend, with morning hours proving particularly hectic and long queues building by midday for buses departing for the St Joseph’s Convent neighborhood. Compounding the traffic issues were unregulated street vending, illegally parked vehicles, and a surge in pedestrian foot traffic along St John’s Street, where vending operations blocked critical walkways. Local stakeholders have put forward a series of recommendations for future events, including banning street vending along high-traffic stretches of St John’s Street and adding a marked pedestrian crossing near Maloney Street to improve safety for crossers.

    On the island of Carriacou, the event far outpaced expectations, with Kim’s Plaza Supermarket owner Kimberlain Mills describing the turnout as a “massive, massive rush” and dubbing the weekend “Christmas in August.” Mills said his team planned extensively for increased demand, keeping shelves fully stocked throughout the two days, and he projected that the sales surge would translate directly to higher quarterly profits. Even so, Mills noted that widespread consumer confusion around eligibility persisted: many shoppers arrived expecting every item in the store to be tax-free, and had to be reminded that only specific qualifying goods qualified for the 0% rate, while other products were already permanently zero-rated and saw no additional discount.

    Experiences varied across different retail segments, however. At Purcell’s Hardware in St. George’s River Road neighborhood, floor supervisor Nicola Baptiste confirmed the event also delivered a welcome sales boost that improved the outlet’s monthly financial performance, but the store opted not to hire additional staff or extend operating hours beyond its regular schedule, matching demand without extra overhead. Like at other outlets, many customers had held off on large purchases ahead of the tax break, though some popular specific items – including a specialty grade of plywood used for custom cabinetry – sold out entirely ahead of the weekend. Baptiste said the outlet would adjust its stock levels ahead of the next VAT-free event to accommodate demand.

    For individual shoppers, timing heavily shaped their event experience. Lani Cato, a local teacher who took advantage of the tax break to purchase higher-priced items she had previously put off buying, visited the Market Square shortly after 8 a.m. on opening day and encountered almost no crowds, while her daughter reported massive congestion when she visited later that weekend. Cato noted that most shoppers waited until the second day to shop, leading to far busier conditions on Saturday. While Cato welcomed the VAT-free initiative as a helpful cost saving measure, she argued that more permanent relief would be more impactful than periodic tax-free weekends, suggesting the government consider lowering the standard VAT rate to a range of 10-12% rather than only eliminating it twice a year.

    Beyond logistical issues, multiple shoppers reported concerns about potential price gouging ahead of the event: several consumers who checked prices on specific items days in advance returned to find that some retailers had raised base prices ahead of the VAT elimination, erasing most or all of the consumer discount. This has sparked calls for more rigorous price monitoring and enforcement before and during future VAT-free weekends, to prevent retailers from capturing the tax relief as extra profit rather than passing savings on to consumers.

    Overall, the first VAT-free weekend has provided valuable on-the-ground data for both the government and participating retailers, showing that the policy drives strong consumer demand and commercial activity, but also requires adjustments to logistics, public outreach, and price regulation to deliver maximum benefit. Even with pre-event guidance published by the government outlining eligible goods, many shoppers and even some frontline retail staff still lacked clear understanding of the rules at the point of sale, indicating that additional public education will be needed ahead of future events. Following the inaugural weekend, the government has formally issued a public call for feedback from both shoppers and businesses to address the identified gaps before the next VAT-free days in September.

  • Asonahores rejects claims of widespread restaurant closures in Dominican Republic

    Asonahores rejects claims of widespread restaurant closures in Dominican Republic

    SANTO DOMINGO – The Dominican Republic’s food and beverage industry is posting strong momentum, with nearly 70 new restaurants launched across the capital city of Santo Domingo in the last 12 months. This upward trend was confirmed by Juan Bancalari, the top executive of the Dominican Republic Hotel and Tourism Association (Asonahores), who pushed back against widespread narratives that the sector is struggling with mass closures.

    In his remarks addressing recent market speculation, Bancalari clarified that occasional restaurant shutdowns are a natural byproduct of healthy market competition, not a sign of systemic industry decline. While some existing operations do exit the market each year, the flow of new dining ventures has not slowed, he noted.

    To back his claim of ongoing expansion, Bancalari highlighted a specific high-growth corridor in the capital: the neighborhood surrounding República de Colombia Avenue, located near the city’s embassy district. In that area alone, 10 new restaurants have opened their doors over the past year, concentrated in the newly developed Patio Colombia and Plaza Los Altos commercial spaces.

    According to Bancalari, the steady influx of new dining establishments underscores the long-term growth of the Dominican Republic’s gastronomic landscape, as well as the nation’s growing appeal as a destination for travelers seeking immersive leisure, dining, and entertainment experiences. Beyond the food sector, he also celebrated the Dominican Republic’s remarkable rebound in the broader tourism industry following the global COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the country has claimed the top spot for post-pandemic tourism recovery across the entire Caribbean and Latin American region. Bancalari attributed this impressive performance to the nation’s sustained efforts to draw in international visitors and reinforce the foundations of its tourism-driven economy.