St Kitts and Nevis CIU to award EC$10,000 grants to 25 small businesses

St Kitts and Nevis: The Citizenship by Investment Unit of St. Kitts and Nevis has launched a “Micro CBI Grant” to benefit up to 25 small businesses with the awarding of EC $10,000.

The statutory body has launched the Micro CBI initiative also known as Partnership with First Federal Credit Union which will serve and benefit micro or small businesses including snackette, landscaping, and many other small business.

The Partnership with First Federal Credit Union is set to serve the citizens with the key objectives such as providing financial support to micro business owners who would not otherwise qualify for grant funding.

The union will also provide training and development to enable selected micro business owners to professionalize and grow their operations. The initiative will highlight CIU’s contribution to the community through tangible investment in local enterprise and provide a platform for showcasing First Federal’s suite of products targeting small business owners.

Contributions and criteria 

Reportedly, the Partnership with First Federal Credit Union will award EC$10,000 to 25 companies in phase 1 as long as the small business has a valid license to operate and has been operating for at least 12 months. 

Furthermore, the EC $10,000 will be awarded if neither the owner nor the business has not been awarded another government grant in the last 12 months. With the accounts which funds are deposited to be held at First Federal. 

With preferences to be given to those businesses that can demonstrate alignment with the St. Kitts and Nevis Government’s Sustainable Island State Agenda. The applications should be submitted on the email address ciugrants@sknciu.com. 

Grants will be awarded to independently owned and operated micro or small businesses, with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover of less than $60,000EC. Funding must be used for business expenditure only including raw materials, staffing, equipment, marketing etc. 

Application process

The general public interested in securing the grant are required to submit applications via short google form that will require the name of business, the duration to which the business has been operating, a copy of the micro business’ license, why they should be selected, and a statement of  how the funds would be used if chosen. 

Furthermore, referrals can also be made via the same process, with the final selection to be made by a leadership team, Cabinet and the CIU Board. 

The applications for the micro businesses to secure their big grant are now open with the closing date set to be on 15 October 2025.