Making Africa-Barbados trade work for everyone

When high-level summits and trade forums make the headlines, it’s easy for the average Barbadian to wonder: what does any of this have to do with me? The recent GUBA Trade and Investment Forum in Bridgetown, which brought together African and Caribbean leaders, may have seemed like another diplomatic exercise – all policy talk and photo ops. But beneath the speeches lies something that could reshape our economic future, if we choose to make it real.

The truth is that Barbados, like many small island states, has outgrown the comfort of limited trade partners. We buy from and sell to the same markets in Europe and North America, while ignoring the cultural and economic bridge that connects us to 1.4 billion people on the African continent. That bridge isn’t just sentimental – it’s strategic.

Africa today represents one of the world’s fastest-growing regions.

With a combined GDP of over US$3.5 trillion and the African Continental Free Trade Area unlocking cross-border business, the potential for Caribbean participation is massive. Imagine Barbadian rum, creative products, fintech solutions, or agro-processed goods entering African markets with fewer barriers. Or African investment in renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and technology fuelling job creation right here at home.

Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw is right to highlight the frameworks already in place: bilateral air services agreements with Rwanda, diplomatic missions in Accra and Nairobi, and new partnerships in bioscience and pharmaceuticals.

Yet the question remains: will these initiatives filter down to benefit ordinary Barbadians? They can, if we bridge the gap between policy and people.

Real transformation happens when trade agreements translate into tangible opportunities. It happens when a young Bajan software developer partners with a Kenyan start-up; when a local manufacturer ships pepper sauce to Lagos; when a cultural exchange leads to tourism growth that puts taxi drivers, craft vendors, and musicians back to work.

For that to happen, the government and the private sector must do more than sign memoranda. We need business literacy programmes that help small and medium enterprises understand export regulations, financing tools that support Africa-Caribbean trade, and marketing initiatives that promote “Brand Barbados” beyond our shores.

We also need to change how we think about ourselves. For too long, our gaze has been fixed northward: to London, Toronto, and Miami – as if opportunity only flows from there. But the future may well lie east and south. Africa is not just our ancestral home; it is our untapped frontier for growth, collaboration and shared innovation.

If Barbados truly wants to build a resilient, diversified economy, then Africa cannot remain an occasional headline. It must become a daily agenda. Trade and investment discussions should lead to factory floors humming again, export hubs expanding, and creative industries flourishing with continental reach.

The GUBA Forum opened the door. Now, it’s up to us – meaning policymakers, entrepreneurs and citizens alike – to walk through it and claim the opportunities that have always been ours.