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FUNKY FUNGI FIRST BENEFICIARY OF TEF’S ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT FUND

SAINT LUCIA (December 13, 2019) – The Saint Lucia Hospitality & Tourism Association’s Tourism Enhancement Fund has strengthened its support for Saint Lucia’s small and medium enterprises through the establishment of an Enterprise Development Fund. The Fund, an initiative of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, is a loan guarantee facility which enables qualifying small businesses to access the capital critical to enhancing their competitiveness and profitability.

This December, the TEF was pleased to present a check to the first beneficiary of this initiative. Funky Fungi is a local, commercially-capable, supplier of mushrooms owned and operated by entrepreneur Alexis William. The company has been able to reliably and consistently provide product to the hospitality sector that is fresher and more affordable than imported mushrooms.

The small, interest free loan, provided through the Fund, will provide much needed financing to the company and allow them to meet their growing demand from the hospitality sector for their mushrooms this winter season.

This newest venture was unveiled at the organization’s Annual General Meeting in August 2019 and is currently focused on supporting existing enterprises which have already been in operation but are seeking a financial injection to better penetrate the tourism and hospitality sector. In the last few months, in an effort to foster partnerships to grow the initiative, the TEF has met with local financial service providers that will assist in the provision of these small loans to the selected entrepreneurs.

“One of the key goals of the TEF’s work program this year is to bolster the Fund’s support of Saint Lucian entrepreneurs”, noted TEF President, Winston Anderson, “We know providing support to local suppliers is widely beneficial. We have seen this through the success of our Virtual Agricultural Clearing House. It is therefore our hope that the support of a company like Funky Fungi will begin to make a dent in Saint Lucia’s large import bill by ensuring that our hotels can consistently be supplied by local suppliers instead of relying on the importation of goods”.

Financial Update:

On September 4, 2019, the Saint Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority (SLSWMA), Saint Lucia Hospitality & Tourism Association (SLHTA), and Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) officially launched a joint campaign to reduce littering on the island.

Subsequently, in an effort to create sustained awareness against littering, informative bumpers stickers with the message “Garcon, you mad or what?” were created. The bumper stickers featured people tossing litter from their vehicles, a common practice on the island, and the catchy phrase denouncing that practice.

Over 1,000 bumper stickers were printed by the SLHTA and TEF and presented to the SLSWMA by Carl Hunter, Chairman of the SLHTA’s Environmental Committee.

After receiving word from the SLSWMA that the bumper stickers were receiving many positive responses from motorists who had placed them on their vehicles, a second batch of stickers with more colourful alterations were printed and presented to the SLSWMA.

The anti-litter campaign was the follow-up to an annual internship programme hosted by the SLHTA that targeted students from Soufriere Comprehensive School. As part of that programme, students were tasked with creating intuitive, non-offensive modes of convincing people not to litter.   

These stickers are available free of charge at the Saint Lucia National Trust (SLNT), SLHTA and SLSWMA.

Protecting the environment forms a major part of the responsibilities of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). That commitment to the environment was demonstrated in April 2019 when the TEF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Saint Lucia National Conservation Fund (SLUNCF).

In that MoU, the TEF pledged to make an annual donation of US$$100,000 for two years to assist the SLUNCF’s operations and for the issuance of grants to deserving organizations which undertake environmental projects with a tourism focus.

The SLUNCF was officially launched on May 28, 2018. It supports long-term management and expansion of Saint Lucia’s areas of land and/or sea specifically dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity and natural resources and other activities that contribute substantially to the conservation, protection and maintenance of biodiversity while creating sustainable livelihoods.

The Trustees on the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), cognizant of the importance of maintaining the integrity of the environment and the social impact that visitors to the island were having on our ecosystems, decided to assist the SLUNCF in reducing the carbon footprint.

One of the first projects earmarked for grants from the TEF pledge is a community youth project in Dennery which focuses on creating signage and awareness related to boa constrictors which cross the main road that runs through that east coast community. Many boa constrictors, which are protected species, have been killed by passing vehicles in that area.

Another project earmarked for assistance concerns coral reef restoration.