The Matching Grants Initiative (MGI) is a project of the Government of Guyana, funded mainly by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Purpose of Matching Grants Initiative
The Matching Grants Initiative (MGI) is an initiative of the Government of Guyana aimed at raising the competitiveness of private Guyanese firms, in particular small and medium enterprises, by enhancing their export capacity. The MGI, funded mainly from loan funds from the IDB.
Eligible businesses can apply to be considered for matching grants at the project implementation phase.
• Individual businesses can access up to 80% (subject to a maximum of US$35,000) of the total eligible project cost.
• The beneficiary business will be expected to make a cash contribution to project execution, of at least 20% of the total eligible project cost. The beneficiary’s contribution may not be applied to: working capital expenditure; purchasing of fixed asset items; and, trade finance.
• MGI will finance the following activities: market research and testing; product and service innovation; market penetration activities; quality and environmental systems development; labeling and packaging; attendance at training programmes aimed at enhancing value chain activities; re-configuration of value chain activities; benchmarking activities; and, equipment.
• MGI will not finance: working capital expenditure; purchases of fixed asset items (immovable - land, building etc); and trade finance.
• Individual businesses (applicants) will be expected to satisfy the following eligibility criteria: must be privately-owned and legally constituted or must be NGOs with proven commercial interests; must have at least one employee and not more than one hundred employees; must have been continuously operating for at least twelve months prior to application; and, must not be in receipt of funds from any programme funded by the Inter-American Development Bank.
• An individual business that has secured approval of its project from the Public-Private Council of MGI, will be granted a maximum period of twenty-four months to implement the project.
Approximately twenty-one individual businesses could benefit from matching grants under this pilot initiative. Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
MGI reserves the right to seek additional submissions for the verification of information submitted/or for project evaluation. Staff of MGI is available to assist applicants to complete the form.
Grant Explained:
Phase 1: Export Readiness Assessment. Firms satisfying eligibility criteria can access between 80% - 95% of the total fee of an expert local Consultant contracted to undertake the requisite diagnosis of the firm’s capacity to export and to earn an acceptable level of profitability.
Phase 2: Project Preparation. Firms that have completed phase 1 (Export Readiness Assessment) and satisfy eligibility criteria can access between 80% - 95% of the total fee of an expert local Consultant to design projects and business plans, based on the results of the export readiness assessment. Projects will be directly geared to enhancing the firm’s penetration of overseas markets, and to the improvement of the firm’s export-derived earnings.
Phase 3: Project Implementation. Firms that have completed phase 2 (Project Preparation) and satisfy eligibility criteria can access up to 50% of the total cost of implementing projects based on approved designs. Up to two years will be allowed for project implementation.
For more information contact:
Ms. Taryn De Mendonca, Administrator - MGI Executing Unit, National Competitiveness Strategy Unit, Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, 229, South Road, Lacytown. Tel 227-8849 ext. 235. Fax 225-0383
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Implementation 
