$113K for garment company

A local garment company based in Santa Cruz was given more than $113,000 in a grant from the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Monday.

The company, Cruz Garments based out of Cantaro Village employs more than 30 people, some of whom work in the factory and others who work from home. The garment factory provides uniforms for several private and public sector organisations including the police service, MIC Institute of Technology and the Civilian Conservation Corps.

They were given a cheque for $113,529 at the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s office in Nicholas Towers in PoS which would assist her in getting machinery that would help in her expansion, through getting equipment and assisting to bolster their export capabilities.

Minister of Trade and Industry, Paula Gopee-Scoon said the initiative helped nine people through the grant facility and said hundreds more had shown their interest.

“We firmly believe our policy with initiatives and measures must directly support the advancement of entrepreneurs and SME’s. We are cognisant of the challenges being faced by them, including financing for business expansion and capacity building and access to markets. These issues factored very heavily in the establishment of this grant fund facility,” Gopee-Scoon said.

Lilla Williams owner of Cruz Garments said it was a great pleasure to receive the grant, and called the receipt of the grant a milestone. She said the grant would help in the finishing department of the garment company. She said it would assist in buying new machinery to put the finishing touches on garments, like cuffs and collars and the final ironing and steaming of items.

“What this does is make our product better and improved. Finishing is important and we have a lot of old machinery,” Williams said.