By Hallam Hope
As Caribbean economies continue to be buttressed by a weak world economy an international two-day conference is scheduled for Barbados to provide a road map for future economic growth.
A focus of the November 11-12 Caribbean Exporters’ Colloquium 2014, organised by the Caribbean Export Development Agency, is the role of the private sector.
And at what is being regarded in the region as a key forum for examining the immediate-term future of the private enterprise in the region, Executive Director of the Guyanese Private Sector consulting firm Millinium3 will join other regional private sector officials in the discourse.
Regional business executives will be joined by Caribbean and international experts to examine the contribution and performance of regional exports. Growth trends of regional exports, in goods and services will be analysed under the conference theme: “Building Economic Resilience in the Caribbean.”
The conference will examine the performance of key sectors, including tourism, agro-processing and the creative goods and services. It will seek to identify both the successful exports and those that have the highest potential for growth.
The global competitiveness of the private sector will also be examined.
The forum will make remedial recommendations by examining hurdles and challenges that inhibit private sector competitiveness.
Some governments have been supportive in the form of tax incentives and programmes to improve public sector efficiency and address the competitiveness-related concerns that have been repeatedly expressed by the regional private sector.
The forum will also pay attention to branding and intellectual property rights, whether the private sector should seek to innovate or imitate, transportation and shipping. The issue of private sector access to capital for investment is also on the agenda.
With industry in the region being continually affected by some of the highest electricity rates in the world the energy sector, will also feature on the forum agenda. The conference will discuss the alternative energy sector and the regional transition to sustainable and energy efficient economies.
(Article submitted to Stabroek Business by Caribbean Export and edited to take account of considerations of space.)
