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Tradewatch
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The Official E-Newsletter of the Caribbean Export Development Agency • Vol. 8 No. 2 March - April 2014
PROMOTING INNOVATION & COMPETITIVENESS
Regional Private Sector Participates in
Caribbean Competitiveness Forum
Caribbean Export teamed up with two forerunners in
regional private sector development, the Caribbean Centre for
Competitiveness (CCfC) of The University of the West Indies and
the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) to host the
2nd Caribbean Competitiveness Forum. The two-day conference
rallied a conglomeration of some of the most successful
trailblazers in business from the Caribbean and its diaspora, to
share their experience in the business sector and on the world
market as well as to critically examine the elements which make
these ventures viable economic contenders. The event took place
from March 18-19, 2014 at the Jamaica Pegasus under the
theme “A New Innings: Competitiveness through Global Value
Chains, Clustering and Innovation”.
The theme and the presentations during the forum focused
on four critical areas: services, Caribbean cuisine, manufacturing
and emerging industries such as green initiatives and animation.
These sectors had been identified by the majority of regional
governments as sectors with significant potential for growth
based on economic indicators. The keynote presenters on each of
the days spoke to one of the sectors. Their presentations differed
in style and content butwere connected by the essential elements
of innovation, distinctive branding, aggressive marketing and
currency or relevancy which ran as a common thread throughout
their stories. One such presenter was Jamaican-born, British
national, Levi Roots who has become famous for his Reggae
Reggae sauce and range of culinary products.
The forum, which catered particularly to private sector
enterprises, incorporated the contributions of key stakeholders
such as the public sector, academia and non-governmental
institutions. This diverse pool of participants ensured that the
discourse of the forum was multi-faceted and comprehensive.
The all-compassing attendance meant that firms had the
opportunity network with and to learn from some of the region’s
business tycoons as well as to establish connections amongst
themselves. From the experience, attendees were able to gain
practical insight intomarketing, export anddistribution strategies
as well as to gain a full appreciation for the less tangible qualities
for success such as innovative and adaptability. These lessons
were concretized by clinics which were conducted after the each
forum session to allow firms to troubleshoot and to workshop
solutions to problems that they were currently facing. The clinics
were modeled based on a collaborative concept and facilitated
by industry experts.
At the conclusion of the event, the attending SMEs had
gained an appreciation of the importance of industry clustering,
which has been adopted to a great extent by the Jamaican private
sector, value chain analysis and other business development
strategies. Above all, and most in keeping with the Agency’s
mandate for private sector business development, the firms had
the opportunity to strengthen and build their networks.
(TW)
Delegates and participants from the 2nd Cairibbean Competitiveness
Forum
Mr. Christopher Reckord during this presentation on use of ICT for
Business Competitiveness
Pamela Coke Hamilton, Executive Director, Caribbean Export
addressing participants at the 2nd Caribbean Competitiveness Forum