The merge into Trade Saint Lucia will streamline the processes of the two organizations and help avoid duplication.
The launch of Trade Saint Lucia took place on May 23. An initiative of the Ministry of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs, the core of the enterprise is a merger of the skills and services of the Saint Lucia Trade Export Promotion Agency (TEPA) and the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC).
Director of TEPA, Jacqueline Emmanuel Flood, said the merger gives the undertaking a core strength.
“TEPA is quite a young organization. We focus primarily on export promotion but we depend to a large extent on the work that is being done in the SBDC. Many of our exporters are still what we call emerging or potential exporters, which means that they are still growing businesses that need to have a strong foothold domestically to be able to do well globally.
“Oftentimes, TEPA and the SBDC are working within the same client space. This merger will streamline what we do, help avoid duplication, and provide businesses with the services they need to make them competitive and successful global players.”
Mrs. Flood added that Trade Saint Lucia will provide both entities the opportunity to evaluate the services which they offer.
“It also gives us an opportunity to re-evaluate our processes and become more innovative. This is an era when technology is being used all across Saint Lucia and the Government of Saint Lucia has been working to make services accessible electronically. So we are going to be moving into that kind of space.”
Trade Saint Lucia is designed to tackle the depth and scope of future business development in Saint Lucia.
