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DAY 2
. NOVEMBER 12 . 2014
SUMMARY OF DAY 1 DISCUSSIONS
Dr. Andre Henry
Principal Consultant, Ideas to Business Limited
SESSION 5 – Innovate or Imitate?
The Caribbean, a resource rich region, continues to lag behind other regions in terms of economic
performance and export competitiveness. One suggested reason for this gap is the region’s lack
of innovation when compared to our other developing, as well as developed trading partners. It
is important to note that Caribbean countries are increasingly recognising the role of innovation
as a catalyst for economic development; but simultaneously, the knowledge gap may be too large
for some to overcome. Countries such as Korea, India, and Peru have demonstrated that a period
of rapid imitation, to ‘catch up’ can result in a shift towards a culture of innovation. This period of
imitation provided the private sector in these countries with a starting base from which to further
develop competencies to innovate and invest in R&D and new product development. While the
global harmonisation of patent laws does present this “imitation to innovation” approach with some
challenges, government policies can play an important role in overcoming these. Is innovation
or imitation the vehicle to regional economic development? What will be needed to facilitate
innovation or imitation? How can the regional private sector stimulate innovation or effectively
imitate cutting edge processes? How do we translate imitation or innovation into economic value
for the region?
MODERATOR: Dr. Jeannine Comma
Chief Executive Officer, The Cave Hill School of Business/The University of the West Indies
PRESENTER: Professor Gillian Marcelle
Head, Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators CeSTII, South African Human
Sciences Research Council
PANELLISTS
The Honourable Julian J Robinson
Minister of State in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Jamaica
Dr. Maryse Robert
Director, Department of Economic and Social Development, Organization of American States
Ms. Lorna Green
Chairman, GSW Animation-Reel Rock Studio
Mr. Lance Hinds
Chief Executive Officer, BrainStreet Group
Mr. Kris Singh
President and Chief Executive Officer, Service Research and Innovation Institute
DISCUSSIONS
COFFEE BREAK
9:00 - 9:15
9:15 - 10:00
10:00 - 10:45
10:45 - 11:00
11:00 - 11:45
Session 6 – Access to Finance: Examining Non-traditional Platforms for Funding
Access to finance has been identified as one of the major constraints facing the region’s firms, and
a major stumbling block to their development and growth. This is particularly true for our Micro,
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). An economy’s ability to support and develop firms
as they go through the stages of development, from start-up to maturity, is heavily dependent on
having the right eco-system in place. A key element of this eco-system is having access to the right
mix of financing, appropriate for these different stages of development. What we have seen in
the Caribbean is a lack of financing appropriate for the early stages of a firm’s development. The
inability of the traditional financial systems to adequately respond to the needs of start-ups and
MSMEs has hindered regional companies from becoming more viable and successful. As a result,
there is now a brighter spotlight on new, non-traditional avenues of funding. Are the traditional
methods of financing currently meeting the needs of the Region’s MSMEs? Is the issue one of
Caribbean Exporters’ Colloquium 2014
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