The ties that bind Africa and the Caribbean have been significantly strengthened through Barbados’ successful hosting of the recent AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
It was a unique opportunity for business executives, producers, manufacturers, creatives, professional service providers, and financiers to engage in meaningful dialogue and to establish firm contacts.
For many others, it was simply enthralling to be in the same space with so many successful entrepreneurs and top executives from across the African continent.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who helped to give impetus to the private/public sector summit, urged those participating from the Caribbean and Africa not to waste the opportunities the trade and investment forum offered.
“I hope that we are turning this corner for the very last time. The reuniting of our people that would create opportunities, more opportunities for our tourism providers in the Caribbean, who continue to price product between winter and summer as if we see snow.
“They also forget that our market is not only North Atlantic countries who see snow, but our market only requires us to look across at each other and not only to look up. If through our partnership, we can remove from the Caribbean that awful period of summer tourism, where our average daily rates are a fraction of what we can achieve during the winter, then our bond of friendship and trade would have worked for us,” the Prime Minister urged.
Those were pointed words from the country’s political leader, whom some delegates were excited to meet in person.
But we also had some sobering comments from a business executive whose institution took the bold step of setting up shop in the African nation of Ghana, when others wondered if it was financial madness to undertake at the time.
Anthony Clerk, the managing director and chief executive officer of Republic Bank Barbados Ltd, understands the nostalgia and emotion associated with wanting to build economic and social bridges with the African continent. He admitted, though, that sometimes the challenges associated with such ventures could be ruinous, if not handled correctly.
Republic Bank became the first regional bank to seek a foothold in Ghana in 2012, but he stressed, the bank undertook significant research and market intelligence before the initial investment.
He acknowledged however that Republic Bank Ghana “has done well”. At the same time, Clerk cautioned “there are a lot of challenges that could have been potential pitfalls if we didn’t have the backing of a strong group”.
The senior Republic Bank executive, who is also president of the Barbados Bankers’ Association, is known for speaking frankly to sometimes uncomfortable issues. And he may have been wrongly interpreted as pouring some cold water on the excitement of the forum.
“I think it’s a good opportunity for whoever wants to. Research it well, ensure that you know what you’re getting into, have a fallback position, don’t put all your eggs into one basket, have some kind of fallback if things do not work out as planned.
“You have to think about things like devaluations and currency fluctuations that could wipe you out in one fell swoop if you’re not careful,” Clerk told participants during a panel discussion titled Unlocking Africa-Caribbean Trade And Investment Through Financing.
Another issue that Caribbean businesses could face, apart from insular sentiment against outside investors, was that of currency fluctuations.
Coming from an environment like Barbados’ or the Eastern Caribbean where there is a history of long-term currency stability, to one in which currency values move dramatically at short notice, can be jolting and destabilizing.
Republic Bank’s 2017 experience with the banking crisis when 10 financial institutions in Ghana market failed, required significant financial support from the parent company, Republic Financial Holdings Limited.
Without the backstop provided by the bank’s parent company, Republic Bank Ghana might have gone under also.
For those who may conclude that the African market might not be worth effort, just ask the team at Republic Bank. The Port-of-Spain financial institution which took a leap of faith in Ghana, now operates a successful financial institution with 40 commercial bank operations offering a range of services there.
As Clerk disclosed: “Out of 23 banks in Ghana, we are number 16, so we are still relatively small. But there are opportunities [in Africa], we have heard here a billion dollars in trading is on offer. So, there are opportunities there, but you have to research it well.”
