In a historic move, the Dominica Agricultural Industrial and Development (AID) Bank, will bring their services to the Kalinago Territory on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning May 27, 2025.
General Manager(ag) of the AID Bank, Mrs. Matilda Jno. Rose said that this is an exciting time for the bank and promised residents that this move brings to them a new level of “convenience and financing solutions”.
“We have given consideration to your challenges and are prepared to make access to credit easier for you. So commencing next week, May 27 and May 29 and every Tuesday and Thursday thereafter, the Aid Bank’s team will be at the St. Cyr Resource Center from 8:30 to 4:00 PM.”
Mrs. Jno Rose added that the bank will introduce two new loan products which were “specifically tailored for you, the people of the Kalinago Territory”. The two facilities are the Kalinago Development Fund (KDF) and a Special Student Loan.
The general manager explained that the Kalinago Development Fund (KDF) was established by the Government of Dominica in 2022 and will grant loans at 2% per annum on the reducing balance. There is also a grace period on interest and principal for the first six (6) months. Applicants must be from Kalinago ancestry and any proposed structure must be built within the Territory. The fund may be accessed for residential or commercial purposes and cultural or enterprise development including farming, agro processing and climate resilience and renewable energy.
Mrs. Jno. Rose said, “ Through this facility [the KDF] the government supports new and existing local businesses in the Kalinago Territory by providing support as a means of fostering local entrepreneurship. The government’s objective is to maintain and strengthen the Kalinago Territory as a major tourist destination and to develop the traditional culture within the Territory”.
The second facility is a Special Student Loan which “caters to students from financially disadvantaged households to pursue tertiary level education at local, regional or international institutions”.
While this fund may be accesssed by all Dominicans, Mrs. Jno. Rose explained that it was especially tailored for persons in the Territory who do not have access to land based security.
“But for the Kalinago Territory, you do not have to be financially disadvantaged. The mere fact that you live in the Territory, you do not have land based security, you are eligible.”
The facility makes provision for students to access up to one hundred thousand dollars with only one guarantor. Applicants who fall under any of the following criteria are eligible:
Be of Kalinago ancestry
High dependency ratio (3 children under 18 to 1 parent)
Household with annual income of under 15,000
Dislocated household by economic changes particularly in vulnerable sectors or natural disasters
Vulnerable group(children of realizable or indigent parents)
Household benefitting from social assistance programs
Mrs. Jno Rose stressed that these initiatives are in hand with the government’s ’priority objectives of sustainable growth and development’.
The initiatives were well received by those present including a former principal, who remarked that they are timely.
“I think that the loan from AID bank is a great loan. It’s coming in time for especially public officers who had problems in accessing loans to build their homes, further their education and even to set up their small businesses. I think it’s long overdue and it is right on time now”
