Barbados and the rest of the region are in line for major foreign direct investment in the coming months, as the Caribbean Export Development Agency brings scores of high-net-worth individuals, regional private sector officials, lawmakers and financial institutions together for the Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) 2023.
The multi-stakeholder event, which is scheduled to take place on Paradise Island in The Bahamas from October 23 to 25, 2023, is designed to help accelerate regional development by bridging investment gaps to create job opportunities.
Executive Director of Caribbean Export Deodat Maharaj said the investment forum, which will be held under the theme A Bold New Caribbean, will create an opportunity for investor-ready projects to get the needed financial injections.
“Our job is to promote and steer investment to the Caribbean. Investment is really important. Given our small size and limited financing within the region, foreign direct investment is a precious asset for us in the Caribbean.
“We have been working day in and day out with our investment promotion agencies and the private sector to get investments to the Caribbean,” he said on Monday as he announced the date for CIF 2023.
Maharaj said the investment forum will focus on four main areas – the green economy, digitalisation and technology, agriculture technology, and logistics and transportation.
“We have to focus on sectors that can drive transformation and that can connect with the existing core sectors such as tourism. In all these four sectors for CIF 2023 – green economy transition, agritech, innovation technology and digitalisation, and transport and logistics – business has an important role to play . . . . The focus is on getting shovel-ready projects to present to investors. So we are currently working with our investment promotion agencies and private sector to get those projects ready for potential investors,” he explained.
Maharaj was unable to say exactly how much investment was expected from the forum, but he reported that the first edition of CIF, held in Trinidad and Tobago last year, has resulted in several multi-million-dollar deals across the region.
He said CIF 2023 is expected to attract about 60 high-net-worth investors and 800 participants from the Caribbean and beyond.
“The Caribbean Investment Forum, I believe, is another platform that will allow us to showcase and demonstrate the massive potential of the Caribbean as a place for opportunity and investment,” Maharaj said.
Pointing out that the Caribbean has signed on to several trade agreements with other countries and regions, he said Caribbean entrepreneurs need to think beyond the shores of their individual islands and see the globe as their marketplace.
Meanwhile, The Bahamas’ Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investment and Aviation Isaac Chester Cooper said the region was in need of disruptive and commercially viable solutions to transform its economies.
He called for action on several recurring issues.
“One issue is connectivity for passengers and cargo. Commercially viable solutions with business-to-business focus are needed,” said Cooper. “So let’s throw out some of these outdated ideas. For a bold Caribbean, we need to fully embrace disruption no matter how uncomfortable it might seem.”
In addition to the areas of focus for the investment forum, Cooper suggested that forming tangible and practical solutions to tackle food insecurity should be given attention.
European Union Ambassador to the Bahamas, Jamaica, Belize, Turks and Caicos and the Cayman Islands, Marianne Van Steen said the upcoming forum should provide tremendous opportunities for investment in the region.
“Beyond capital, we hope to see more transfer of know-how, the strengthening of our trade volumes and, ultimately, increased growth and more jobs for Caribbean citizens,” said Van Steen.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb
