The International Trade Centre (ITC) in collaboration with Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) has announced the launch of the Caribbean Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) Hub to help micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the region develop green and viable business models. The Hub will be hosted by Caribbean Export, the regional trade and investment promotion agency mandated to enhance the competitiveness of CARIFORUM MSMEs.
Caribbean Export will become part of a global network of T4SD Hubs that have been created with local institutions in Ghana, Kenya, Laos, Nepal, Peru, and Vietnam, to strengthen the competitiveness of MSMEs by implementing green business practices that help them to become climate-resilient, lower their carbon emissions, recycle waste, get certified with sustainability standards and access green finance and value chains.
ITC Executive Director and former Caribbean Export Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said at last Friday’s virtual launch of the hub that the development points to the Caribbean positioning itself at the centre of the current trade debate, which largely revolves around how trade can contribute to an inclusive green recovery and transition in the region. “Trade can be a powerful tool to ensure a resilient and net zero emissions future, which leaves no one behind, when we ensure that it is used in the right way,” she proffered. The ITC Executive Director added that “any stakeholder along an international value chain – whether a consumer, local producer or international brand – can play its role to transform our trading system by demanding sustainable products, by adhering to sustainability standards, and by implementing sustainable business practices.”
At last Friday’s event, Caribbean Export Executive Director Deodat Maharaj said that “for SMEs to enhance their competitiveness requires a concerted effort to protect against the vulnerability to disaster events, improved efficiency of the limited resources available, and the identification of ways to rapidly expand production capacity. Moreover, our SMEs must be positioned to maximize the use of existing market access arrangements, by overcoming technical barriers to trade,” he added.
Over the next two years the Caribbean T4SD Hub will address issues like climate resilience, resource efficiency, circularity, sustainability standards, and access to green finance and international value chains. The hub will also deploy a unique approach comprised of blended learning activities, including e-learning, webinars and customised face-to-face coaching sessions.
