14 small businesses in Vega Baja to get $659K in federal grants
Fourteen small businesses in the town of Vega Baja will receive grants of up to $50,000 each for a total of $659,112, town Mayor Marcos Cruz-Molina announced.
The funding comes following an alliance between the municipality, the Puerto Rico Economic Development Bank, and the Community Socio-Economic Institute (INSEC, in Spanish).
The first entrepreneurs who each received $50,000 in federal subsidies for the damages caused by the passage of Hurricanes Irma and María were Rafael I. Casanova-Tirado, from Caribbean Decor Stone, Noralyn Tirado-Resto, from Bocaito Restaurant LLC, and Axel Díaz-Irizarry, from Endix Group.
“We at the BDE contribute to the effective implementation of public policy aimed at promoting the development of a stable and self-sustainable economy,” EDB President Luis Alemañy said.
“Since 1985, we’ve been the only bank whose fundamental purpose is to support the development of Puerto Rican entrepreneurs. Over the decades, the BDE has become the main ally of local entrepreneurs, offering financing alternatives, maintaining a leadership position in offering benefits and innovative services to our small and medium-sized merchants so that they can create or expand their businesses,” he said.
As part of the town’s initiatives to support its business community, it recently sponsored a meeting with 100 entrepreneurs to provide guidance on the available alternatives for accessing federal loan funds and grants for businesses development.
“At the end of the meeting, several businesspeople went on to make more in-depth consultations and submit requests. As entrepreneurs progress, we promote jobs and economic activity in our city of Vega Baja,” said Cruz-Molina.
Alemañy said “the Mayor of Vega Baja has been consistent in his adminstration to ensure that businesses have all the resources and opportunities to create and develop their operations.”
INSEC’s goal is to promote “overcoming poverty through the provision of integrated services with technical and educational tools that support economic and social self-sufficiency of low-income individuals, families, and communities in Puerto Rico,” said Julián Torres, who heads the entity founded in 1985.
