Kingston, 11 March 2022 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has announced a covid-19 relief programme for registered small companies and umbrella organisations within the Entertainment, Culture and Creative Industries.

The Ministry will be offering grants to entities affected by covid-19.

“The grants will range from a million Jamaican dollars to 400-thousand Jamaican dollars,” said the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange as she announced the opening of the applications portal on the Ministry’s website here.

Minister Grange said the size of grants to companies and organisations would depend on the entity and the size of the sector they serve.

“Within the sector you have large organisations such as JaRIA, JAVAA, and the Jamaica Federation of Musicians; and you have small business entities say in theatre, in dance, in film that will also be considered for grants.”

To be eligible for grants, companies and organisations must have been in operation prior to the covid-19 pandemic and be able to prove it using company registration documents, tax compliance certificate and event flyer.

The entities must also be signed up to the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport's e-Registry; and must have an account (with any local bank) in Jamaican currency.

The deadline for application is Wednesday, March 17 at midnight.

Minister Grange said:
“It’s a small window… [and] I want to encourage those entities to apply now. We want to provide these funds to you for capacity building, capacity strengthening, and also to provide these small registered entities with funds to restart after the covid devastation…before the end of the financial year.”

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