By: Kimberly Ramkhalawan
October 7, 2022
Coming out of the pandemic, there is much renewed call for the region to take on a different role in how it attracts its investors. And with the Caribbean Investment Forum just weeks away, Deodat Maharaj, Executive Director of Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA), welcomed potential investors to the forum during its virtual launch on Tuesday. This year’s theme is Building a Smarter, Greener Caribbean, and promises to be the largest gathering of businesses since March, 2019 pre pandemic.
Maharaj, in opening the event shared the list of companies partnering with the CEDA as being testament of the “importance of steering investments to create jobs and opportunities for Caribbean people”.
In recognizing the challenges faced in the region from high debt burdens to climate vulnerability, the CEDA Executive Director said it was business and investment that had an “absolutely critical role in driving the transformation of the region”.
He adds if anything the last two years has taught us is that building resilience must be a top priority for the region. This year focus is being placed on key areas that would be drivers of this transformation, which also includes the food industry and the boosting of agriculture, leveraging technology in this area, he adds, is a priority.
Boosting of investment in the areas of e-commerce, and digitalization are also critical. However, as one of the climate vulnerable regions in the world, Maharaj says ensuring there is a green economy transition is an imperative.
Citing a recent joint study conducted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) showed that a move toward a green economy would result in the creation of over 400,000 jobs in the region.
Meanwhile, Maharaj highlighted the importance of intra-regional transport and an area that will be discussed at the upcoming forum. He however notes that no longer can the state be mandated to carry the burden of facilitating this service, as there needs to be some private sector input in the investment and management of this service.
His Excellency Peter Cavendish Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Delegation of the European Union, representing CEDA’s partner, the European Union (EU), in hosting the forum shared the importance the region held in the world today as a zone of peace as well as its involvement in many of the main economic sectors.
He urged potential investors to consider the region’s long association with Europe, as well as its ease of access through the Panama Canal. As a result, he says the European Investment bank recognizes many of the investment features within Caribbean nations, including the world’s one percent Tropical Cloud rain forest, Tobago’s Main Ridge as having potential in the climate resilient future for the Caribbean. He added that the region had other areas of interest for potential mass development including it being home to the Number one cocoa genome and research centre, one of two multi-campus region universities in the world, not to mention having a vast energy potential including solar, wind and green hydro energy outside of its rich fossil fuels and natural gas reserves.
Underscoring the EU’s commitment to the region as a reason why investors should look to the Caribbean as their next investment hub, Cavendish shared its most recent funding of ‘BELLA’, a transatlantic link described as a digital data highway between Europe and Latin America, or a cable which provides a high capacity transmission and run between Portugal and Brazil, facilitating connectivity to both Latin America and within the EU.
As to hosting this year’s event, Trinidad and Tobago’s Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee Scoon, shared the tangible benefits she believes will come with the region’s promotion of its private sector and entrepreneurs, whose ideas and expertise and capital it envisages will result in growth through projects across the region. She added there was a need for nations across the world to transition soon into having greener and smarter economies. However, “for small island developing states, she says this was dependent on striking a balance with policies, economic growth, environmental stewardship, and technological advancements, all key to sustainable and equitable growth”.
Gopee Scoon shared while there were many challenges unique to the region, to her there was equally enough opportunities for growth through which other avenues for branching out into the other ventures.
Tuesday’s launch saw over 400 participants from some 36 countries express interest in participating in this year’s forum. This year the forum will take place in Trinidad and Tobago from November 8-11.