News item | 19-05-2025 | 19:06
The business community gets a greater role in the collaboration with the Caribbean Islands and countries in the Kingdom. Local entrepreneurship is encouraged by bringing money from the government and local private parties together. This new approach is now being used first with the 24 million euros that the government has made available for the production of fresh food.
With this money, a so -called revolving fund is set up in which local banks and pension funds participate. This should lead to better results and more self -reliance for the islands. State Secretary Zolt Szabó (Digitization and Kingdom Relations) today informed the House of Representatives about his approach in which an important role is playing for the private sector.
State Secretary Szabó: “I want to see more results than so far. As far as I am concerned, we are going to do it differently from now on. By directly involving private parties, we are creating more room for investments of entrepreneurs. This stimulates the economy and contributes directly to economic self -reliance, which I consider essential for the future of the islands and with the coarse to use. ‘Gamechanger’ for the islands: together with entrepreneurs, civil society and local authorities, this approach is a great chance to do it really well.
Dependence makes vulnerable
The cabinet has previously announced that it will allocate 24 million euros for food security on the six islands. The islands in the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom are highly dependent on imports for their fresh food. This is not only expensive for the inhabitants, it also makes the islands vulnerable to external influences. Among other things because of high import tariffs, strong exchange rates or natural disasters. Producing food yourself makes fresh food affordable, stimulates the economy and increases self -reliance.
State Secretary Szabó: “Entrepreneurs play a crucial role in this. They ensure local initiatives and the necessary innovation. We are now going to make this possible. Not with individual projects, but a well -considered and result -oriented approach. We also involve knowledge institutions that can help entrepreneurs with innovative applications and the further distribution of the gained here.”
Stimulating entrepreneurship
An important bottleneck for entrepreneurs on the islands is access to capital to invest. Especially for entrepreneurs in the food production sector, it is difficult to get financing to start a business, grow or to innovate. To tackle this problem, it is therefore a so -called revolving Fund established that is housed in an external foundation. The available budget is increased because private parties, such as banks and pension funds, can also participate in the fund. The foundation will offer loans with a low interest rate to entrepreneurs who produce fresh food. This ensures a long -term, innovative and effective use of resources. In this way both private food production and entrepreneurship are stimulated on the islands. In the second half of 2025, companies can request a knowledge voucher worth 5000 euros. They can trade this voucher for a knowledge institution for knowledge and advice, for example about ways to increase productivity and efficiency.
Support local authorities
Some of the resources are used through local authorities to create preconditions that must contribute to food security. In this way, for example, investments can be made in infrastructure, water management or the storage of fresh goods.
In the coming period, the plans will be further elaborated and it will also be determined how the resources made available for the government are distributed. The aim is to open the foundation and the counter for local government initiatives at the beginning of 2026.