OAS Grants CED US$125,000 to Support Climate Change Project in SVG

L–R: CED General Manager, Ronette Lewis; CED Training and Education Officer, Keisha Phillips; Director of Economic Planning, Ricardo Frederick; and Administrative Technician at the OAS SVG Office, Diana Browne.

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By S.Browne. Updated 4:22 p.m., Wednesday, August 13, 2025, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

The Organization of American States (OAS), through its Development Cooperation Fund (DCF), has approved a US$125,000 (XCD$308,000) project for the Centre for Enterprise Development (CED) focusing on the impact of climate change on women and underserved communities in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Unlocking Opportunities through Climate Change Initiatives (UOCCI) Project will be implemented during the OAS’s programming cycle to support, recognise, and foster the contributions of women and underserved communities, creating a more inclusive and effective approach to climate action that benefits everyone.

The UOCCI Project aims to reduce the impact of climate change while enhancing livelihoods and increasing economic opportunities for women and vulnerable communities. The project includes a series of training sessions, forums, and grant funding for climate action projects developed by groups and organisations.

The UOCCI Project signing ceremony took place on 12 August 2025 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Conference Room, with staff from the Ministries of Finance, Economic Planning and Information Technology, and Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, alongside representatives from the local OAS office and CED, witnessing the event.

The project is funded from a seed fund of US$1,875,000 approved for the 2024–2027 DCF programming cycle dedicated to climate action. It is guided by four thematic areas: Circular Economy (CE), Climate and Environmental Education, Development of Climate-Smart Skills, and the Impact of Climate Change on Women and Underserved Communities.

St Vincent and the Grenadines is among fifteen countries eligible to participate in the 2024–2027 OAS/DCF programming cycle under the four approved programmes.

Between 2014 and 2024, the OAS/DCF funded several projects in St Vincent and the Grenadines, including the US$83,000 Comprehensive Early Childhood Care project, Restructuring the Early Childhood Curriculum in SVG, during the 2017–2021 cycle, and US$100,000 for CED’s Resilience through Innovation and Technology (RIT) MSME Recovery Programme during the 2021–2024 cycle.

The Development Cooperation Fund (DCF) of the OAS is supported by the annual voluntary contributions of OAS member states and is aimed at addressing their most urgent development needs, particularly in smaller and more vulnerable economies. The Fund emphasises institutional and human resource capacity building as the foundation for sustainable development.

This information was sourced from a press release sent to us by the Centre for Enterprise Development Inc. (CED).