Status: Completed

Period of implementation: 2021

Donor: European Union – 11th European Development Fund

Direct Beneficiary: 26 Female Agri-processing Entrepreneurs

Implementing Agency: Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority, ONAO

Donor Contribution: 35,000 EUR

Background:

Antigua and Barbuda is among the most dependent on tourism in the Caribbean with the industry, directly and indirectly, accounting for an estimated combined amount of 91 percent of all employment. COVID-19 has had a significant adverse macroeconomic and social impact on Antigua and Barbuda. Closure of businesses and closure of the border has curtailed the income earning capacity of those employed in the services sectors more specifically the tourism sector which accounts for well over 80% of employment directly and indirectly.

The ONAO was able to provide the Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority (ABIA) with a grant for community-oriented support initiatives through Social Investment/Poverty Reductions Funds. The grant was awarded for a project which targeted women who were unemployed or underemployed in the tourism sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although disaggregated data is not available for the gender breakdown of employment in the tourism sector, the Executive Director of the Antigua and Barbuda Hotel and Tourism Authority (ABHTA) estimates a ratio of 60:40 female to male composition. This shows that more females are affected by the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector than males. 

Objective: 

To build critical skills in business development in the Agri-processing sector, the program recruited twenty-six women who had previously been employed in the tourism sector. Each participant was trained in agri-processing and business.

Project description:

Twenty-six women were identified through a selection process that consisted of written applications, screening, and interviews to ensure that the candidates met the stipulated application criteria. During the course, participants were mentally prepared for the challenges of running a business through a series of life skills presentations. They were then introduced to the general concepts of running a business through training in managing HR, marketing, pricing, costing, forecasting, using information technology, and creating a business plan. As the project had specific agri-processing requirements, participants were provided with training in food technology, food safety, commodity utilization, and were given the opportunity to obtain their local Food Handlers badge as well as the international ServSafe certificate. 

The course consisted of 15 modules, delivered both virtually and face-to-face over a period of 6 months.

The capacity-building exercise provided participants with the following qualifications:

• A Local Food Handlers Certificate
• A ServSafe Certificate
• Proficiency in Commodity Utilization
• A deeper understanding of how to run a small business; and
• A business plan for their agri-processing business which could be utilized to seek funding.