-Ali tells regional business forum
The Caribbean Investment Forum 2024 opened yesterday with President Irfaan Ali charging the region’s private sector to tap into the many business opportunities available in the bloc and help to bridge the investment gaps as it is impossible for states alone to do it.
“This is a scenario before us, in terms of the investment gap in the region. An annual average investment of US$373 billion is required just on the water and sanitation. New infrastructure requires an allocation of US$256 billion… $148 billion towards improving access to safe and safely managed sanitation, and $16.8 billion in sewer treatment,” Ali informed as he addressed the opening of the region’s premier gathering for business leaders and investors organized by the Caribbean Investment Agency.
“This is investment that is required for us to achieve important SDG [Sustainable Development Goals] goals. This is a financing gap as it is now. How do we mobilize capital? What opportunities does this bring for public private partnership, for developing models that can work in the interests of achieving the SDGs but also can be profitable private for the private sector? The days when we look at these things as investment only by the state is coming closely to an end. We have to deploy private capital,” he asserted.
In the address, titled “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges: Vision for a Transformed Caribbean”, Ali stressed that deploying private capital and finding the best models to ensure financing gaps in various sectors are bridged, will require a private sector that is bold enough to make investment decisions and banks that are not scared to take risks.
Taking a jab at the banking sector, he said, “We have to be very frank and we have to examine ourselves critically as a region. My friend from the CDB [Caribbean Development Bank] spoke a bit earlier. It would be interesting for us to learn about the liquidity that exists in the private sector arm of the CDB. How have we grown that liquidity over the last 10 years? How did we invest that liquidity over the last 10 years? How did we create innovative approach of bringing the region private sector together to make use of that liquidity?
“And then, for us to self-examine the total deposits in commercial banks in CARICOM countries that is estimated to be US$61.5B in total deposits. There, $61.5 billion sitting in deposits in the banks! How are we leveraging that capital? How are we using that capital to create new wealth? These are questions for the financial sector; for regional development bank, the Caribbean Development Bank and for the private sector to answer for us,” he added.
With the primary objective of the forum being to attract focused investment into priority areas such as the digitization of business, sustainable development, sustainable agriculture, and the transition to a green economy, he said that the private sector has to work with states to see how best it can maximise the investments available.
However, he noted that in the facilitating interactions between investors and businesses, a key aspect has to be also on fostering a greener and smarter economy. “We have to go after innovation that will position us as a region of excellence and a region of excellence requires innovative thinking. It requires investing in a knowledge economy, investing in our human resources, building the right and strong partnerships. These are the things that matter,” Ali said.
Ripe
Meanwhile, Executive Director of the Caribbean Export Development Agency, Dr Damie Sinanan, also underscored that the Caribbean “is ripe for investment opportunities across sectors” and the pivotal role the private sector will have to play. He said that the forum will provide the platform to enable various public and private stakeholders to be able to meet and advance this cause.
As the region continues to strengthen against external shocks, he contended that it was paramount that countries never lose sight of the “pivotal role played by the private sector in transforming lives and economic growth.”
“No longer can we sustain economic growth by domestic economical spaces. We must look beyond borders and embrace regional and international partnerships. We must come together as a single Caribbean to bring the required scale and market sides needed to attract the high level of capital investment, needed to achieve transformational growth,” Sinanan said.
“It can’t be business as usual. We must act with alacrity in unity while embracing the ever- changing environment. I know that sounds scary but it is certainly necessary,” he added.
He highlighted three priority areas that his agency believes needs to be focused on for resilient region. These are: a green economy transition, innovation and technology, and sustainable agriculture.
With many of the Caribbean countries vulnerable to changing climate conditions, he underscored the “urgent shift” towards greener economies, as he emphasised that it was not just about mitigating risks but seizing opportunities and maximising them. He pointed to decarbonisation, which a World Bank report noted will help to create 400,000 jobs.
In the area of digital innovation and technology, he noted the immediate need to mobilise the right partners and act swiftly to leverage the opportunities available as the “region is witnessing a technological transformation, providing new economies of scale.”
For sustainable agriculture, Dr Sinanan highlighted how hurricanes, droughts, and rising sea levels, pose a threat to food security. “Sustainability is not an option but a necessity,” he said.
Sustainable agriculture is also a key driver in CARICOM’s lowering of its food imports 25 by 25 plan, he pointed out.
Only last week, President Ali who is currently Chairman of CARICOM, lamented that the 25 by 25 programme will experience setbacks due to the impact of Hurricane Beryl on a number of countries’ agricultural and other sectors.
Ali had said that CARICOM has begun to analyse the damage done and set long-, medium- and short-term plans for returning to some semblance of normalcy soonest. And with a focus on agriculture, the chairman of the ministerial taskforce will this week hold a meeting to begin those discussions.
The Caribbean Investment Forum 2024 continues today at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, and will end tomorrow. It sets a programme to target business leaders and investors from the Caribbean and Latin America, the United States, Europe, and beyond.
