WHAT'S NEW AT  COMPETE CARIBBEAN
THREE NEW PROJECTS APPROVED, TO IMPROVE BUSINESS AND INNOVATION CLIMATE IN THE REGION
Compete Caribbean approved three projects in Barbados, Belize, and St. Lucia within the scope of enhancing business and innovation climate.

The three projects include:

Capacity Building for Barbados in Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems 

The program will improve service delivery of Arbitration and Mediation Services in Barbados thereby reducing the burden of commercial disputes on the existing legal system. The project seeks to reduce the time taken for settlements to be reached in the enforcement of contracts and the resolution of business disputes and contribute to making Barbados a regional hub for Alternative Dispute Resolution. The project will be executed in partnership with the Arbitration and Mediation Court of the Caribbean.  

Leveraging Digital Technology for Improving the Business Climate in Belize 

The project will finance a mobile-friendly technological solution to streamline business processes and improve data sharing among government agencies.  Improved intra-agency communication will not only result in reduced processing time but will also support open data initiatives via dynamic and secure sharing of content and data between entities, approved users, and applications. The project will be executed in partnership with Belize Economic Development Council. 

Competitiveness Agenda & Action Plan for Saint Lucia 

The program will  foster competitiveness, productivity and innovation in St. Lucia by: (i) building the capacity of key institutions such as NCPC and Department of Innovation ; (ii) defining a Competitiveness Agenda that reflects consensus between public, private and civil society actor on activities that can foster sustainable economic growth; and (iii) the implementation business climate reforms. The project will be executed in partnership with the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council.

COMPETE CARIBBEAN MISSION VISITS JAMAICA TO DESIGN IGNITE II PROGRAM
A mission of Compete Caribbean and IDB specialists visited Jamaica to design the second phase of the Innovation Grant from New Ideas to Entrepreneurship (IGNITE) program managed by the  Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ).

The Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility is exploring avenues for supporting Jamaica's Innovation Grant from New Ideas to Entrepreneurship (IGNITE) Phase II. The first phase of the IGNITE 18-month pilot program provided funding of between JMD$1 million and JMD$4 million to 27 entrepreneurs. During the first 12 months of IGNITE's pilot, 215 full time jobs were created; $225 million in investments were generated; and entities realized approximately $109 million in revenues from the domestic market and exports.

For more information on our support to IGNITE please click here
CONSULTANCY OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK ON COMPETE CARIBBEAN PROJECTS
Compete Caribbean is seeking to hire consultants with experience in project management and project design. Additionally, Compete Caribbean is receiving expressions of interest from firms interested in providing consultancy services to design and deploy technological solutions in business processes.

For more information please visit:
 
FEATURED RESEARCH
Paper:
Financing the Blue Economy: A Caribbean Development Opportunity  

The paper examines the potential of the blue economy to drive sustained and inclusive economic growth.

A joint initiative between CDB and UNDP, it explores factors that constrain our ability to take advantage of the ocean's potential.

New and high-value blue economy industries such as aquaculture, marine biotechnology, deep seabed mining, and renewable energy remain under-developed in our Region.
 

Paper:
Air transport competitiveness and connectivity in the Caribbean

This paper provides an overview of the initial findings of the status of air connectivity in the Caribbean, looking at both intra-Caribbean and extra-Caribbean travel.

In addition, it discusses key impediments to connectivity and the potential benefits from removing or reducing these impediments. 

Through the use of a modified gravity model it estimates the impact of improving connectivity, both in terms of air traffic and for the wider economy. 
 
Working Paper:
The Connectivity Frontier

The importance of connectivity is growing across the world as the need for access to information and communication technologies is becoming more important for economic development.

This paper presents the concept of the connectivity frontier as the expected achievable level of commercially sustainable connectivity for information and communication technologies.

The study uses the connectivity frontier as a benchmark illustrating the connectivity gap analysis in Latin American and the Caribbean. 
 

NEWS FROM OUR DONORS
CDB Annual Meeting puts spotlight on resilience in the Caribbean

The Caribbean Development Bank's (CDB) 48th Annual Meeting has ended in Grenada, with Governors of the institution uniting around the event's theme of resilience. CDB President, Dr. William Warren Smith, in his closing statement on May 31, urged delegates to mainstream resilience; leverage opportunities for blue economy growth; and build "smart partnerships" to meet the Region's development objectives.. 
Learn more


Accessing finance to become a reality for Caribbean women-owned businesses

The CDB in partnership with the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) , has kicked off the inaugural activity of the Women Empowered through Export (WE-Xport) programme with a two-day workshop aimed at increasing participating firms' and regional business support organisations' (BSOs) access to finance. 
Learn more 

Latin American and Caribbean export recovery continues, with signs of slowdown     

IDB Invest, the private arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, will open to public consultation the draft of the new Access to Information Policy on May 23 and will receive comments for a period of 120 days.
The draft Policy is now available to the public for information in the institution's four official languages - Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.  
 


Canada to work with Caribbean countries in climate resilience in the region

Canada is committed to working with Caribbean partners to enhance relations, including by strengthening long-term economic and climate resilience in the region.

The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, attended the 21st meeting of the CARICOM's Council for Foreign and Community Relations to discuss key issues of regional importance, such as the impact of climate change.



 


 
 

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