T&T to host first Caribbean Investment Forum
T&T will host the inaugural Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) in November that is expected to attract hundreds of businesses and investors from across the world.
Billed as the “largest gathering of businesses since Covid-19” in the region, CIF 2022 is being hosted by the Barbados-based Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) in collaboration with the T&T Government, Caricom, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies and with the support of the European Union.
The organisers said the November 8-11 event is intended to help build a “SMARTer, GREENer Caribbean”.
The CIF 2022 was launched virtually last week and Caribbean Export, which is the leading regional trade and investment promotion agency in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group, said over 400 participants heard details about the “dynamic agenda for the business-focused event which will bring together key decision-makers, foreign-direct investors, government agencies, and entrepreneurs, to engage and connect for the benefit of the region”.
It said the forum will particularly highlight four important sectors for growth; agri tech, renewable energy, transportation and logistics, and digital business. Its main objectives include building regional resilience, establishing long-term jobs, and championing sustainable development.
Caribbean Export’s executive director, Deodat Maharaj, speaking at the launch of the forum, said it is timely and essential because “business and investment have an absolutely critical role to play in driving transformation” in the Caribbean.
“The last two years have demonstrated to us more than ever that building resilience must be the top priority of our region. The Covid-19 pandemic placed enormous stress on our economies and societies…it is crystal clear that we need to have a forensic focus on sectors that can drive and advance this transformation.”
Highly talented populations
The Trinidad and Tobago-based European Union’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Peter Cavendish, said the Caribbean’s attractiveness to investors as a peaceful region with well-established democracies and highly talented populations.
“The Caribbean is composed of vibrant nations which are active in all of the major economic sectors…and the Caribbean nations’ policies are very naturally closely aligned with the EU’s policies in areas such as the Green deal, digitalisation, economic growth and resilience, and in defending common democratic values.
“The Caribbean also lies within the vast markets of North and South America and consider also their long associations with Europe, consider the linking of the Caribbean and the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal, through which a huge percentage of world trade passes.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Paula Gopee-Scoon, in welcoming the staging of CIF 2022, said it is truly a regional event.
“It will have at its core the private sector and entrepreneurs whose ideas and expertise at capital will ultimately result in tangible, sustainable projects across the region.
“The Caribbean Investment Forum is our window to the world and we look forward to welcoming investors and business executives who wish to strengthen and diversify their products…
“This forum creates a very unique opportunity for investors to bring together capital with ideas and shovel-ready projects that will undoubtedly redound to the benefit of all of us. The Forum promises to be rich in its daily offerings given the stellar list of presenters and participants. The Caribbean is open for business, our teams are ready, and we look forward to welcoming all of you,” Gopee-Scoon added.
CIF 2022 will feature a range of high-level presentations, panel discussions, roundtables, site visits, and networking opportunities under the theme “Building A SMARTer, GREENer, Caribbean”.
The speakers will include the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene; founding managing partner of Celesta Capital, Nicholas Brathwaite, as well as the executive director of Invest SVG, Annette Mark, and the president and Group CEO of Massy Holdings, Gervase Warner.