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by Vincent “Boo” Nurse
Barbados has sent a signal to prospective investors and entrepreneurs that the country is now fully open for business and that it is seeking to broaden the avenues of its economic bases.
COVID-l9 has had a devastating effect on tourism across the world and Barbados is not an exception. Tourism has been the island’s major cog in the country’s economic wheel and there is now urgent need to widen the scope to attract new investment to the country. Recently lnvest Barbados, the Government agency charged with the task of selling the island and its favourable climate for external investment to the markets around the world, visited the United Kingdom.
The Agency hosted seminars in England and Scotland and immediate reports suggest that the response of the attendeeswas quite favourable.
Chief executive officer Kaye-Anne Brathwaite led the delegation and in the presence of the High Commissioner for Barbados, Milton lnniss, outlined in general terms the government’s views as they relate to investing in Barbados by new commercial enterprises on the island.
Brathwaite said the seminars in the UK were the first to be held by the agency since the start of the pandemic and added that she saw them as an exciting and encouraging curtain-raiser to the investment road show which will be held later in the year in the UK.
The CEO urged the audiences to consider Barbados as a premier place to live, work and invest. She said she was mindful that there are many important and historic linkages between the countries and appeared to suggest that there would not be any reason to remain solely within these established channels.
Brathwaite informed those present that it is the agency’s objective to forge stronger ties with non-traditional markets and sectors from Europe, Africa and the Middle East. ln giving credence to a new and broader outlook, Brathwaite said she was en route to Dubai to partake in the launch of Expo 2020 where Barbados will be showcased.
An assessment of the outcome of the seminars would suggest that there is a quiet determination on the part of the agency to entice persons in the UK to invest in Barbados and in so doing bring greater flexibility and diversity to the economy of the island which in recent times has relied heavily on the tourism sector.
Brathwaite said some productive sectors have been successful and she listed insurance, wealth management, financial services and information technology as areas that have withstood the shocks of the pandemic.
Warming to her task in an upbeat presentation of the case for investment in Barbados, Brathwaite said that Barbados was ranked second among the Latin American and Caribbean countries for competitiveness and the country remains a resilient financial centre which is underpinned by compliance.
Barbadian lan Gittens has been very active in Scotland in promoting Barbados for many years and along with the agency’s representative in Scotland, Shane Thomas, was highly instrumental in producing the Scotland seminar.
Commenting on the seminar Gittens said: “ln my opinion this Scottish leg was well received with over 20 per cent of the attendees seriously considering further discussions on their requirements at the upcoming Scottish Trade Mission to Barbados in November.
Vincent “Boo” Nurse is a Barbadian living in London who is a retired land Revenue Manager, Pensions and Investment Adviser. He is passionate about the development of his island home and disapora.
