Business Barbados - 2023 Edition

Barbados Unlocks African Business and Cultural Wealth on Behalf of the Caribbean Unlocking Africa arbados has enjoyed a celebrated history of achievements, not often aligned with the traditional expectations of a nation so tiny. As a result, the island may shock those who do not fully understand the spirit and tenacity of its people. Just 56-years-old as an independent sovereign nation, Barbados boasts a parliamentary system that is the third oldest in the hemisphere, established on June 26, 1639. The ambitions of Barbadians have never been constrained by geographical and population size. The evidence of this is well chronicled. It ranges from the undisputed world’s greatest all-round cricketer and living National Hero Sir Garfield Sobers, to National Hero and self-made female billionaire, entertainer and business mogul Robyn Rihanna Fenty, to inventor of the world’s first Internet search engine, computer scientist Alan Emtage, and David Dowrich, a global financial services expert and actuary. These are but a few of the academics, creatives, scientists, and innovators who have joined ordinary Barbadians in contributing to our many national and global advances. The island has continuously been among the top tier of the United Nations Human Development Index, which rates the quality of life of a country’s citizens. Barbados has deliberately emphasised the provision of high quality, free education to citizens from pre-school through to university. This has been the bedrock of its development strategy for many decades. Given its progressive national stance, it should come as no surprise that Barbados would take the lead role in the Caribbean of significantly expanding trade and cultural ties with countries in the continent of Africa. With the deep historical relationship between Africa and the Caribbean, rooted in the cross section between slavery and economics, the decision by Barbados’ Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley to strategically align the development trajectory of the island with that of African states, was a decision that continues to pay dividends on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. As the island was emerging from the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Prime Minister Mottley put Kaye-Anne Greenidge CEO, Invest Barbados B forward several proposals to achieve strengthened relations between African nations and Caribbean countries. At the inaugural CARICOM-Africa Summit, hosted virtually in 2021, the establishment of a regular weekly direct flight was identified by Prime Minister Mottley as a critical point for catapulting this renewed relationship, which holds such enormous potential. However, even before the inaugural CARICOM-Africa Summit in September, the Government of Barbados initiated some strategic diplomatic appointments, which signalled the administration’s strong commitment to this exciting frontier. Mr. Alexander McDonald was appointed High Commissioner to the Republic of Kenya and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Nairobi, while Mr. Phil Phillips was made Commercial and Cultural Attaché, stationed in the Barbados High Commission in Accra, Ghana. To prepare the new diplomats for their postings, they participated in orientation sessions conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. In addition, the diplomats engaged in strategic meetings with officials of Invest Barbados, the agency tasked with promoting, attracting and sustaining foreign direct investment in the island. Invest Barbados is headed by Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Kaye-Anne Greenidge and includes an experienced team of experts in a cross-section of economic, business development and 69 BUSINESS BARBADOS 2023 U N L O C K I N G A F R I C A