A recent report by the Inter-American Development Bank, (IDB), has shed light on a critical issue faced by Caribbean businesses – the need to improve productivity and embrace technology to drive growth and competitiveness. Titled ‘Fostering Innovation and Productivity in the Caribbean’, the report underlines the urgency of businesses in the region taking measures to enhance productivity and harness the potential of digital transformation as avenues towards the realization of these objectives. While the Report awards Caribbean businesses ‘full marks’ for “potential,” it notes that they, nonetheless, have had to grapple with failure to match the productivity levels that are being realized by their global counterparts, a circumstance which limits their ability to compete effectively in regional and international markets while retarding overall economic progress.
