NDFD commemorates 30th anniversary with exhibition

The National Development Foundation of Dominica (NDFD) hosted an exhibition, commemorating its 30th anniversary with an exposition on Great Marlborough Street, today.

Chairperson of the anniversary activities Sharon Vidal-Francis said that the event is meant to showcase some of the businesses that the NDFD has helped fund over the years, showing the Foundation’s achievement and simultaneously providing advertising opportunities for the products of the fourteen clients that were participating.

She stated, “We are celebrating 30 years of operation and we wanted to highlight some of our clients’ products. So these are all small business clients of the NDFD, we chose to invite 20 of them because if we had to bring in all of them, we would need all the streets of Roseau. It’s advertisement for them and promotion for us. We did one like this when we celebrated 25 years, as well.”

Some of the businesses featured at the exhibition included Nail Expressions, Benjo’s Seamoss, Third Wheel Beverage Company and Drinking from my Saucer Arts and Craft.

Cedric Maximea of Third Wheel said that the company produces eight different flavors of alcoholic punch including peanut, rum and raisin, chocolate and strawberry and saw the exhibition as a great way to push the products out to the public and raise brand awareness.

Drinking from my Saucer proprietor Oswald Shillingford claimed that the unique name for his company was inspired by his mother and reflected the uniqueness of his crafts, which included intricately designed novel jewelry boxes and other wood-carved items.

Vidal –Francis said that while the Foundation has expanded its services over the years, it will continue to provide the assistance it has to entrepreneurs.

“We have actually extended our services to include small business support, so we write business plans, VAT, social security and financial services for small business owners. But we will continue to provide assistance for small business owners, those who find it difficult to find funding from the commercial banks,” affirmed Vidal Francis.