The Caribbean Council has mobilised its resources and lessons learned from years of working with the private sector on trade and investment projects, to offer development-specific consultancy services supporting economic development and private sector led growth.
Projects include supporting local capacity building, inclusivity, social engagement and investment, as well as awareness and adaptation to environmental and social sustainability concerns, political risks and corruption risks. For local exporters crucial to the region’s economic growth, we have supported export compliance and new financing.
Case Study 1 – Investor Promotion
The Client’s Needs
We have worked with government investment promotion agencies around the Caribbean and Central America to assist them in promoting inward investment and supporting priority national exports.
Countries we have worked with include the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Panama, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
Our Value
Through decades of working with the Caribbean and Central America, we have an unrivalled network of investors and importer companies which are interested in the region and the goods and services it provides. We are able to assist investment promotion agencies in how to present their country’s strengths; support them with marketing and press engagement; and organise programmes of meetings and conferences with relevant potential commercial partners.
Services have included:
- Sector focussed leads generation
- Major conference organisation (up to 250 persons)
- Programmes of bilateral meetings for key ministers
- Trade missions (inward and outward) of exporters and for investors
- Round-table discussion forums (virtual and physical)
- Representation of exporters in meetings in Europe
Case Study 2 – Capacity Building & Policy Reform: Sugar Sector
The Client’s Needs
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) commissioned a scoping study setting out opportunities for the UK Government to invest in Guyana and Suriname’s economic development. The study was requested at a time when the UK government was furthering private-sector driven aspects of its engagement with Caribbean development.
Our Value
Through our network of contacts in Guyana and Suriname, the Caribbean Council conducted interviews with the private sector, civil society and public officials to give context and meaning to available quantitative data. The report provided an economic analysis of the countries focussing on the transport infrastructure, housing construction, energy and renewable energy, mining, agribusiness, oil and gas and environmental services sectors.
We presented this report to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and supported them to use key insights from the report to develop their commercial and prosperity strategy towards supporting the countries. The report was published online by the FCO, High Commissions and Embassies in the region, and was launched in London at a business seminar to promote to British companies the business opportunities that Guyana and Suriname offer.
Case Study 3 – Capacity Building and Analysis: Blue Economy
The Client’s Needs
In response to the extremely heavy influxes of Sargassum seaweed to islands in the South Caribbean in 2015, impacting the regions ecosystems, beaches and tourism, we were commissioned by the governments of the British Virgin Islands and members of the OECS, in collaboration with the UK FCO and Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, to support with capacity building on techniques to harvest the Sargassum and potentially gain economic value from it.
Our Value
We identified and convened a large panel of international experts who had experience of economic uses of Sargassum and brought them together with policy makers from the Organsiation of the Eastern Caribbean States and the Government of the British Virgin Islands.
On the basis of the three days of workshops, we then produced a detailed set of recommendations for policy makers in the Caribbean to consider as they sought to address the very real challenges caused by Sargassum.
We subsequently undertook a feasibility study looking specifically using sargassum seaweed as part of a renewable energy option for the Caribbean, through a method called anaerobic digestion. Detailed discussions with investors using this technology are now underway.
