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The Economic Development Bank has seen success with giving out what might be described as “risky loans” to residents of the territory according to the bank’s chief financial officer Ernest Halliday. https://stcroixsource.com/2019/07/18/eda-bank-claims-success-from-risky-loans/

It was no coincidence that representatives from the U.S. Virgin Islands were in Toronto yesterday (Sept. 5) to promote the perks of filming in the Caribbean destination during the Toronto International Film Festival. 

Made up of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas, the multi-island destination was featured in feature films like The Shawshank Redemption, Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and its backdrops and scenery have doubled for other locations from Mexico to the Greek islands...

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For Immediate Release

Source: Caribbean Media Exchange, Inc.

Contact:
Greta Andzenge
Marketplace Excellence
+1 201 861-2056
Email: greta@marketplaceexcellence.com

_{Muriel Wiltord of the Martinique Promotion Bureau will be recognized in Miami.}
 

TOURISM LEADERS TO BE RECOGNIZED AT LEADERSHIP AWARDS IN MIAMI

MIAMI (November 3, 2019) - Three respected Caribbean tourism leaders will be recognized for their leadership achievements at the 2019 Caribbean Media Exchange (CMEx) Leadership Awards slated for December 14 in Miami.

Muriel Wiltord, Director of The Americas for the Martinique Promotion Bureau; Commissioner of Tourism of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Joseph Boschulte; and Frank Comito, Director General and CEO of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) are among the list of honorees for the year-end fundraiser, which will raise resources for Caribbean education.

Born in Senegal, Muriel Wiltord's parents were originally from Martinique. She pursued her graduate studies in Paris and taught tourism at University of La Sorbonne for five years. After moving to New York in 1987, she became Director of the Martinique Promotion Bureau in New York where she establishes and maintains cultural and tourism ties between the United States and Martinique.

Named one of the "100 most influential women of the tourism industry in the United States" by Travel Agent magazine, Wiltord was invested as a Knight of the National Order of Merit and as an ambassador of Martinique tourism. 

_{Commissioner Joseph Boschulte to be recognized for his contributions to both the public and private sectors in the  US. Virgin Islands.}

Commissioner Joseph Boschulte, appointed to USVI Governor Albert Bryan Jr.'s cabinet to lead the tourism department, has vast experience in business and in government as well as a notable record of improving organizational performance and growth. He formerly served as President and CEO of The West Indian Company Limited (WICO), where he currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The Commissioner, who earned an MBA from Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, held high-level positions in transportation, utilities, telecommunications, finance, government development and investment banking. A former Vice President of Institutional Advancement at the University of the Virgin Islands, Commissioner Boschulte previously served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance with Wachovia Securities in Atlanta, and Vice President of Banc of America Securities in Charlotte and New York City.

_{Frank Comito's contribution to Caribbean tourism will be celebrated at the 2019 CMEx Leadership Awards in December.}

Frank Comito has more than 35 years of experience in economic development, organization management, government affairs, project management, workforce development, research, and in providing business and investor support in The Bahamas, the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Caribbean. He served as Executive Vice President for the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association for more than 10 years. 

Comito has held executive positions with the Nassau Tourism and Development Board, the National Alliance of Business in Washington, DC, and earlier with the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John Chambers of Commerce. Regionally, he was President of the Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives, a long-serving member of CHTA's Board of Directors, and has extensive experience in crisis planning and recovery.

He was also Deputy Chairman of the Nassau Airport Development Company where he helped guide a $410 million investment in upgrading the airport. 

This year's CMEx honorees include leading Caribbean journalist and entrepreneur Janet Silvera; veteran airline executive Christine Kennedy of Delta Air Lines; Chef José Andrés of World Central Kitchen; attorney and philanthropist Marlon Hill; and Caribbean-American television anchor/reporter Neki Mohan of WPLG, ABC TV's local affiliate in Miami.

The event, which will feature the musical talents of Trinidad and Tobago's Lord Relator and Virgin Islands steel pan player Stan Brown, will help support Bahamian scholars who have been impacted by the devastating Category 5 storm which lashed The Abacos and Grand Bahama in September. 

Providing a neutral platform for the industry's movers and shakers to address pressing tourism concerns, CMEx, which is partnering with the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Education Foundation (CHTAEF) and the Errol and Nita Barrow Educational Trust in Miami, also lends a helping hand to Caribbean and American communities by sharing expertise, financial and in-kind assistance. 

The 2019 CMEx Leadership Awards is supported by Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, International Career and Business Alliance (ICABA), Island Syndicate, Marketplace Excellence, Tropical Attractions, Inc., and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism.

For tickets, visit www.tinyurl.com/CMEx-Awards-2019.

About Caribbean Media Exchange, Inc. (CMEx)

CMEx's mission is to support and develop the ability of the media, government, the travel and tourism industry and communities to consider the importance of tourism in sustainable development, while lending a hand to the communities involved by sharing relevant expertise, financial and in-kind assistance. 

For further information, visit www.cmexmedia.org. 

The V.I. Economic Development Authority held the first of three town hall meetings Tuesday on St. Croix, and will hold a second meeting tonight on St. John, with a third is set for Thursday evening on St. Thomas.

“We exist to help the people of the territory. The objective that we look at is, what can we do to help the people?” said EDA Chief Executive Officer, Kamal Latham.
EDA employees gave presentations on the programs available, including the Enterprise Zone Commission, the Economic Development Bank and the Economic Development Commission, through which beneficiaries can receive a 90 percent reduction in corporate and personal income tax and 100 percent exemption on excise tax.

“Most people think it’s only the EDC, the economic development commission that offers tax benefits, but the enterprise zone provides for tax credits or tax exemptions for revitalization of a building that you may own in Frederiksted or in Christiansted,” said Nadine Marchena-Kean, managing director of the Enterprise Zone Commission.

Monique Samuel, acting director of the Economic Development Bank, said business loans are available but “we’re a bank of last resort,” and applicants must prove they’ve already been rejected for a bank loan.

Cusa Holloway, manager of the small business incubator, said her program’s mission “is to provide a critical bridge” between the EDA and other programs, and has provided over 4,000 hours of consulting to businesses that grossed over $5 million in revenue since the program began in 2013.

Margarita Greenidge-Benjamin, managing director of the tax incentive program, explained the various tax exemptions available, and compliance officer Joy Penn explained that companies which do not comply with their beneficiary agreements could be made to repay tax benefits.

Assistant CEO Wayne Biggs detailed the industrial parks on St. Thomas and St. Croix, which are “pretty much filled right now,” but need additional infrastructure improvements.
Tonight’s town hall meeting is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. at the Legislative Annex on St. John, and the final meeting is set for Thursday on St. Thomas from 6 to 8 p.m. at the V.I. Small Business Development Training Center in Nisky Center.

For more information, visit www.usvieda.org.

— Contact Suzanne Carlson at 340-714-9122 or email scarlson@dailynews.vi.

Download Article here.

St. Johnians had a chance to learn more about the Economic Development Authority’s various programs at a Town Hall meeting Wednesday, and the team will give a final presentation tonight on St. Thomas.

Several residents had questions about the tax incentives given to select businesses that agree to abide by certain conditions, including charitable contributions, and whether the EDC keeps a list of nonprofits approved to receive such contributions.

“We’ve received a lot of inquiries similar to that,” said Margarita Greenidge-Benjamin, managing director of the tax incentive program. “We’re working through that process, because our clients also ask for that. So hopefully we’ll have that sooner than later.”

At the EDA’s first Town Hall meeting on St. Croix on Tuesday, Charlita Shuster explained how her 37-year-old nonprofit dance organization, Music in Motion, did not survive after the hurricanes despite her pleas to Economic Development Commission beneficiary companies for financial help.

“We need a little bit more stability of knowing where these people are giving their donations to,” Shuster said.

Resident Pam Gan questioned the involvement of Caneel Bay in the program, and asked how much money has been forgone in taxes over the years.

“Tax information is confidential,” said Assistant Chief Executive Officer Wayne Biggs, but he said the EDA does periodically release aggregate figures.

Biggs also discussed the EDA’s industrial parks on St. Croix and St. Thomas, and how successful companies like Leatherback Brewery have been expanding. That brewery is moving into Puerto Rico and has plans to create a microbrewery in Havensight on St. Thomas, “so they’re expanding quickly,” he said.

St. John also does not have an economic development zone like St. Croix and St. Thomas, which provide incentives for development in certain areas that are not otherwise available.

Nadine Marchena-Kean, managing director of the Enterprise Zone Commission, said that “right now, because it’s the commercial zone, we’re looking at the outline of the historic Cruz Bay area, but that does not limit suggestions coming in from the community.

EDA Chief Executive Officer Kamal Latham also highlighted the Vision 2040 program, funded through a $1.6 million federal grant, which will create an economic development “vision and plan for the entire territory,” with community input.

The final EDA Town Hall meeting is set for tonight on St. Thomas from 6 to 9 p.m. at the V.I. Small Business Development Training Center in Nisky Center.

For more information, visit www.usvieda.org.

— Contact Suzanne Carlson at 340-714-9122 or email scarlson@dailynews.vi.

Download Article here.

The coming of the International Private Bank to St. Croix was an economic boom for the town of Christiansted, and senators expressed hope that by clarifying the Economic Development Authority’s regulations they can bring in half a dozen more entities just like it.

Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Finance gave a favorable recommendation to a bill simplifying hiring requirements for what...

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