Business Barbados - 2023 Edition

hile Barbados has been making a splash in diplomatic circles in Africa, over the past few years, Amanda and I have been on our own discovery missions in Ghana. Between us we spent over four years living and working there. Amanda provided international tax services to multinational companies investing in West Africa, as well as to local Nigerian and Ghanaian companies expanding into new territories. I was on a secondment to the PwC People & Organisation and Government & Public Sector teams. It’s with that backdrop that we feel well placed to share our views on the opportunities for South-South collaboration, and how to navigate the potential challenges. Barbadian Expertise in Solar Power Within a few weeks of arriving in Ghana, visitors may hear the term “dumsor dumsor”, which translates to “off-and-on, off-and-on” or load shedding by the local power company. However, they are not likely to experience any major disruptions from the unpredictable power outages, since most commercial buildings, hotels, and middle class homes have back up diesel generators. This is an ESG conundrum, since most of Ghana’s power comes from hydroelectric dams. Therefore, a significant proportion of the climate gains from using renewable power generation is eroded due to system outages. For Ghana, with an average of 2,377 hours of sunlight per year (Barbados averages 3,000 hours per year), solar power could be a sustainable alternative. In Barbados, we are spoilt for choice and ahead of our island neighbours in the use of solar power, especially for water heating. According to Solar Heat Worldwide 2022, Barbados was ranked number one in the world for market penetration per capita with 600 kWth/ 1,000 inhabitants, compared to Cyprus, the next highest at 461 kWth/ 1,000 inhabitants. We have the expertise and can leverage successful and mature business models. However, new market entrants to Africa will face the key challenge of achieving competitive pricing. The solution may be to leverage lower cost imports from China and add value in the system design. African Expertise in Mobile Money - Fintech for Financial Inclusion Africa has a headstart on Barbados in the Fintech space, especially in mobile money, a one trillion USD industry. According to Statista, Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for more than 66% of the value and 61% of the volume of global mobile money transactions in 2019. That share of the market rose to 65% in 2021, and is still growing. It fills a critical gap in the financial sector for people who have The Perfect Partnership Strengthening the Africa-Caribbean Alliance Joanna Robinson Partner PwC East Caribbean Amanda Layne Tax Director PwC East Caribbean W A F R I C A - C A R I B B E A N A L L I A N C E 73 BUSINESS BARBADOS 2023