The Development Finance Corporation (DFC), held its Productive Sector Expo on Saturday, October 1st at the ITVET Courtyard in Belize City. The event celebrated DFC’s 53rd year of serving the people of Belize, and featured more than 30 booths from private companies who are clients/supporters of DFC. Some of the businesses at the expo included energy-saving companies which produce solar panels, juice companies, and people in the arts and craft industry.
Other key developmental partners present at the event were BELTRAIDE, the Central Building Authority, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre.
In his address at the opening of the event, Assistant General Manager of Lending Operations, Franklyn Magloire stated that since 2009 DFC has done disbursements of over of over $160 million to the Belizean economy. “Of this amount, $116 million was directly disbursed to the productive sector, $20.69 million disbursed to the residential sector and $21.1 million to the educational sector,” said Magloire. “This reflects the DFC’s commitment not only to economy growth and development, but also to social development as well.” According to the organization, DFC is the only development bank in Belize.
The expo was considered the first of its kind and it featured a cross spectrum of DFC clients from different parts of the country. Representing Ambergris Caye in the small Micro Sector was the Ambergris Sausage Factory, which was flanked by other businesses including those from the larger productive sector businesses such as Toucan Industries.
Entrance was free, and visitors had a chance to win some fabulous gate prizes, including $500 cash, plus a stay in a luxurious resort. The fair also included phone promotions from Digicell and SMART, entertainment was provided for children, and food and drinks were on sale. At the fair, DFC took the opportunity to feature their services to potential new clients. The organization now offers financing for businesses to reduce their long term operational costs by investing in renewable energy and energy efficient (RE/EE) technologies. This new supportive form of financing helps DFC’s efforts in encouraging businesses to integrate environmentally resilient mechanisms into their business operations.
To show what RE/EE is, a few companies that adopted the system took part in the expo this year as well. They included Pro Solar Ltd, Go Green Consultancy and Green Sun Ltd.
The DFC continues working on its mission to expand and strengthen the economy of the country by providing financing for economically sustainable and environmentally acceptable projects to individuals or groups seeking the financing. DFC thanks everyone who attended the expo and made it a grand success.
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