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  • Antigua Distillery now making ‘NoVirus’ hand sanitizers

Antigua Distillery now making ‘NoVirus’ hand sanitizers

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The decision by the Antigua Distillery Ltd. to diversify its product offerings by switching it production to meet the demand for hand sanitizers has won the company much praise and commendation.

On Tuesday, Trade Minister, E. P Chet Greene led a tour of the production facilities at ADL adjacent to the Deep Water Harbour in St. John’s.

The move by the company takes on added significance as it fits nicely into the government’s policy objective to wean the country off its near total dependence on tourism and to develop other sectors of the economy, notably, manufacturing and agriculture.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a worldwide demand for hand and other sanitizers, which has led to global shortages of these products.

In an attempt to meet the local and regional demand, ADL used the alcohol it produces for its spirits to produce three products under its Novirus brand; one a hand sanitizer gel with local aloes, a regular hand sanitizer and a sanitizer to clear surfaces.

“All our products are reasonably priced and are available locally. They  were produced to specification established by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which also mandated that such products should not include fragrances as these may lead to skin irritation for some consumers,” said Cheif Executive Officer Anthony Bento.

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According to company Global Marketing Manager, Calbert Francis, already the company is shipping the products to several neighbouring islands. These include St Kitts, Nevis, Barbados, and Anguilla with negotiations underway to have the products shipped to St Lucia as well.

He explained that the company utilizes an intra-regional shipping vessel to get the products from island-to-island. However, Francis said shipping to some territories currently poses a problem.

Minister Greene gave a commitment to assist the company work out these issues ‘as best as the ministry can’. However, the minister said he was heartened to see the operations at ADL, especially to see that the company has been able to spring into action in a ‘very short period of time’ to produce the sanitizers.

He commended the company for its creativity in utilizing local aloes in one of the products since this gives a boost to local agricultural production.

“We can now say to our farmers that they now have a ready market for aloes; this is the creation of a niche   market,” he noted. The trade minister also made a call for residents to support local products.

“I want to appeal directly to local consumers. We now have world-class sanitizing products made local, by a local company that has been around for decades. “As minister of trade, I want to appeal directly to you, buy local, support local, support local industries as we support Antigua and Barbuda,” he emphasized.

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2 responses to “Antigua Distillery now making ‘NoVirus’ hand sanitizers”

  1. That’s commendable, I like that,local, I can’t wait.Congrats.🇦🇬🇦🇬🇦🇬👏👏👏

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]