‘Diversify or die’

Authorities in Barbados and the rest of the region are being advised to stop putting all their eggs in the tourism basket and diversify their economies in line with global changes if they want to survive.

Principals of Upturn Funds Caribbean (UFC) offered that guidance during the venture capital firm’s inaugural investment summit on Thursday at the Barbados Hilton Resort.

“Tourism is something that no longer works in this region,” said UFC co-founder and chairman Raphael D’angelis.

“There are way better markets [that are] more fit to be a more aggressive competitor in the tourism arena than many countries in the Caribbean. But we know that if we integrate the region, bring the region closer together we have a shot here in actually creating economic prosperity on a level never seen before.”

“We base this not only on the fact that we want to integrate. We actually went through many studies in many different regions around the world to show the average growth that that integration can generate,” he added.

His view was supported by co-founder and chief executive officer of UFC Ambassador Dr Andre Thomas who drew attention to the tourism sector being impacted by international events.

“So when you look at the Caribbean, you realise that one of our major economic pillars, which is tourism, it is very clear how susceptible it is in our current world . . . . With climate change and geopolitical conflicts and the integration of the world in which a crisis in one country in Asia or, say, Europe can trigger a chain reaction around the world, that can affect people’s inclination to travel. Our vulnerability is significant. Our world is not as stable as it was before. That is the reality,” said Thomas.

“I am not saying that we don’t nourish and develop our tourism product . . . but what I am saying is that just like cities around the world, they evolve, and so economically we have to evolve,” he added.

Thomas said that with ongoing geopolitical tensions and significant economic transition taking place globally, leaders should move swiftly to diversify their economies.

He warned that failure to do so could stymie economic development, and therefore called for a paradigm shift in the Caribbean when it comes to investment.

“Within the Caribbean, we are dealing with a significant reality, and that is that the mental maps for economic development for the last 10 to 20 years have to change because the economic realities have changed,” he said.

“The best way to deal with this is to be more efficient in administration, more efficient in managing and more efficient in asking for funding. But that [alone] is not going to help because the core issue has not been dealt with. The core issue is the economic landscape has changed and leaders who are very agile mentally who see this and adapt are those that survive these transitions.

“So, the failure to transition could cost you your existence. It is that serious when you really study it. These transitions do not ask us if we are ready for them. These transitions do not court us. These transitions just happen, they do not consult with us,” Thomas added.

D’angelis told the room of potential investors that one of the first projects ripe for investment in the region to aid in its transformation was in maritime transport.

He said that once governments are “willing to listen, together we can actually start this transformation”.

“Without logistics integration, without transportation infrastructure development for people and cargo there is no future in the Caribbean,” contended D’angelis.

He also singled out housing and business development as areas to pursue.

Organisers of the UFC are hoping that the August 25 to 27 investment summit, which has attracted scores of potential investors from the US, Canada, Brazil, Europe, the Caribbean, Central America and the Middle East, will result in more than US$5 billion in investment across a range of sectors in the Caribbean, including agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure development, maritime transport, renewable energy, mining and real estate.

“The thing about economies is this – every time there are new economic realities, money flies from one sector to another. I mean, it has left tourism and landed in COVID supplies,” Thomas pointed out.

“So we have to focus on each particular sector. There is an opportunity for the region.”

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb