Maharaj says time to stop talking and take firm action on Africa/Caribbean trade

International trade specialist Deodat Maharaj.

By Marlon Madden

Barbados-based international trade specialist Deodat Maharaj is calling on the Mia Mottley administration and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments and business leaders to start taking concrete action towards investing and trading in Africa.

“We need to have much more action than talking . . . The time to talk is over. The time to act is really now,” Maharaj, Executive Director of the Caribbean Export Development Agency, said in an interview with Barbados TODAY.

He said for “concrete and practical things to happen” policymakers should ensure systems are in place to facilitate the trade of goods and services and the business leaders should take the lead in investing.

He recommended that countries form political alliances “with like-minded countries of similar size” in Africa and identify three or four areas on which to focus over an 18 to 24-month period and once there are measurable results, build on them.

“It is about being very focused. It’s not about being all things for all people. What are the services that we can support, where there would be interest, and you build on your strength,” he said.

Pointing out that the continent of Africa had one of the youngest populations, he said entertainment and music, through the use of technology, was one area that should immediately be targeted.

Saying “we can’t do flavour-of-the-month corporation”, he also singled out tourism and renewable energy as areas of strength for the Caribbean,. He said that best practices should be shared with African regions seeking to build out a tourism product and renewable energy sector.

Maharaj said while the establishment of a direct airlink between African nations and some Caribbean countries was critical, he believed that would take “a long time” and it therefore made no sense for the business community to wait for this to happen, at least not those that offer services.

Officials are hoping to have the direct airlink in place by the middle of this year.

He also acknowledged that while it would be useful for a CARICOM approach to get trade and investment going in Africa, it would not be wise for the business community to wait for this to take place since “everybody may not always be on the same page”.

“You have to start somewhere. That is why it is important that businesses play that important leadership role because the business people will find the opportunities. It is important that the policymakers provide the framework but the business people take the lead,” he said, while noting that large conglomerates had the advantage.

Maharaj said he welcomed the hosting of the inaugural AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum last year as a critical first step toward the deepening of trade and investment between the two regions.

He also welcomed the African Export-Import (Afrexim) Bank approval of a US$1.5 billion fund in December last year, that makes way for CARICOM member states to access financing instruments that support identified sectors including tourism, renewable energy, shipping, mining, agriculture, health care, agribusiness, air links and aquaculture.

“So where are they in the equation and how do we bring the businesspeople to the forefront of the agenda? How we do it is by taking the businesspeople and connecting them with businesspeople on the continent and the business support organisations and creating that platform,” he explained.

“We need to have a much more focused and targeted strategy. We have to start from our strength. Most of our people came from West Africa,” he said, while indicating that Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica already had a High Commission in sections of Africa and the Caribbean had a commercial banking presence through the Trinidad-based Republic Financial Holdings Limited, on which to build.

“When we talk about deepening trade and investment with Africa we have to have a reference point. My submission is that we have to start small or more focused on West Africa and build on some successes. Then you transfer that success to other parts of the continent. To my mind, that is absolutely critical,” he added.

Maharaj, who lived and worked in Tanzania and Mozambique for several years, said he was concerned Caribbean nationals were thinking of Africa “as a monolith” instead of seeing it as a diverse, complex set of countries.

“We can’t treat Africa as a monolith. There is lusophone Africa, anglophone Africa, francophone Africa, and you have all of northern Africa, which is arabic-speaking and is very different. So for us in the Caribbean, when we talk about deepening trade and investment partnership with Africa we have to understand it cannot be treated as a monolith,” he insisted.

He said currency should not be an issue given that the US dollar was universally accepted for trade. He also dismissed the notion that language could be a barrier.

Maharaj said some of the big enterprises in the region that are already exporting to other countries have been expressing an interest about getting into countries in Africa.

“Also, when you speak with a lot of small entrepreneurs in the services sector there is this yearning to connect closer with the continent. So I find interest across the board, but the issue is about making it happen and staying the course,” he said.

Caribbean Export is scheduled to undertake its first mission to West Africa in June this year to help identify opportunities and lay a foundation for Caribbean businesses to penetrate the African market. 

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb

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