NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Nassau Cruise Port Ltd. (NCP) has partnered with Access Accelerator, Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) to provide former Festival Place vendors with access to grant funding for tenancy in the Marketplace at Nassau Cruise Port.
Up to $20,000 in funding had been made available for each qualifying Marketplace Tenant that meets eligibility and application requirements, according to a statement.
The funding will reportedly be used to assist these small Bahamian business owners with resources to fit out their Marketplace Boutiques within the Port and will aid in the development of authentic Bahamian tourism products.
Marketplace Tenants will apply online through the SBDC’s online application which opened on September 1, 2022, and will run for 30 days.
“Nassau Cruise Port and its Team are to be congratulated on this phenomenal initiative to ensure that their Marketplace Boutiques are a first-class experience, together with their mandate to promote authentically Bahamian products,” said Pamela Burnside, Creative Nassau, and Chairwoman of the Authentically Bahamian Advisory Committee.
“NCP is offering their Marketplace Tenants a unique, amazing opportunity. It is an honour to be Chairwoman of this Committee.”
She continued: “This is what we, as Creative Nassau, and proponents of the Orange Economy, are all about – empowering Bahamians, period – and communication and collaboration are the best way to achieve this ‘for the greater good’.”
Samantha L. Rolle, Executive Director of Access Accelerator, SBDC, said: “Access Accelerator is designed for programs exactly like this, to put business owners in contact with funding to support and sustain their entrepreneurial endeavours. The output from these small Bahamian business owners, and their unique product offerings, will be on display for thousands of cruise passengers from all over the world each day. It really puts these Bahamian vendors on the world stage.”
Rolle added: “The ongoing work being done by Nassau Cruise Port and the Authentically Bahamian Advisory Committee, of which I am a part, is remarkable. We are really seeking to create a distinctive destination and I am proud of the role that Access Accelerator, Small Business Development Centre has had in this worthy undertaking.”
For his part, Mike Maura Jr., CEO and Director of Nassau Cruise Port said the port has consistently provided support to the legacy tenants from the former Festival Place.
“It gives our team great pleasure to provide support in this way, to help these small Bahamian business owners with their boutique fit out,” he said.
“Covid-19 was very hard on the tourism sector, and this funding will help in a very meaningful way. The team at NCP is also very excited about the effort that the Authentically Bahamian Advisory Committee is making to elevate product offerings in the port space, which aligns with Nassau Cruise Port maintaining its key focus of being authentically Bahamian. The goods that will be on offer at Nassau Cruise Port will be unique, and will convey the spirit, nature, identity and character of The Bahamas”.
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