By: Staff Writer
April 12, 2024
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) touts partnerships with civil society on capitalizing the Cultural and Creative Industries Innovation Fund (CIIF), sees potential ahead for artisans.
Ms Lisa Harding, acting head of the private sector division at the CDB, said at the relaunching of the CIIF: I pride myself in supporting artists because it inspires me, it makes me feel like I’m part of a bigger cosmos of the human, diverse community that we are. But it also it puts us in touch with another realm of our human selves, which is really, if we go to the source of creativity, its soul, its spirit, its mind. It’s why we’re here as human beings.
“So I wanted to start with that, because I think framing this conversation is all about potential.”
The CIIF is designed to provide support to the Caribbean region’s CI sector through technical assistance. Alongside facilitating industry training, research and business development activities, CIIF provides grant funding for innovative projects within the cultural and creative industries, aligned to three grant streams – Enabling Environment, Data Intelligence, and Improved Competitiveness of Creative MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises).
Thinking about the next 10 years in the Caribbean and where the growth is going to be, “we need to hear whether there is potential in the sector,” Harding said. She continued: “And I think we know the answer to that. But how can we make it? How can we show that we’re exporting goods, we’re exporting services. We are integrated into international community. We are part of the global system of creatives and we are proud of our festivals proud of our musicians, proud of our designers proud of our artists.”
Ms Therese Turner Jones, acting vice president for operations, CDB, also said that she is “extremely proud” of the CDB because, “there’s a lot of loose talk about the role of the creative industries in the Caribbean, and how much more can be contributing to our resilience, but also our future potential increasing economic opportunities, making the Caribbean a place where we are proud of all of the human potential that exists in this region. And that’s what we’re celebrating today.”
CIIF completed a pilot cycle of operations and grant funding between 2018-2023. The fund awarded 30 grants resulting in directly serving over 500 stakeholders across our 19 BMCs. CIIF also launched and piloted technical assistance to the CIs in Haiti from 2020-2023, through dedicated grant funding valued at USD198,000, directly serving 90 beneficiaries.
In June 2023, CIIF was granted approval and additional resources for a further period of operations to 2027.