Trade Watch V9 No3 2015

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4 Tradewatch • The Official E-Newsletter of the Caribbean Export Development Agency • Vol.9 No. 3, 2015
product. In addition a total of 37 SMEs and 2 BSOs from Haiti and
the DR received financial grants to support their business of € 1
million.
As with all economic development however, investment is
needed and as such another key aspect of the trade component
is investment promotion to attract foreign direct investment
(FDI). The DR is the largest recipient of FDI in the Caribbean, and
FDI has also played an important role in the recovery efforts for
Haiti, attracting investments to boost the export-processing
manufacturing industry and also to build hotels. Investment
promotion plays an integral part in attaining FDI for economies
and in 2014 the Agency supported the increased collaboration
between the Investment Promotion Agency’s (IPAs) of Haiti and DR
with the development and implementation of the Joint Investment
Promotion Strategy (JIPS), which should enable the two countries
to carry out a qualitative jump in their quest of attracting FDI in the
island, based on the synergies and complementarities which the
countries share in selected sectors such as the agroindustry, textile,
call center and BPO, and renewable energy. The JIPS promotes the
attraction of ‘external’ FDI into Haiti and the Dominican Republic
in a win-win relationship for both countries and the programme
has sponsored joint missions and participation at international
fairs enhancing the overall image and providing greater visibility
internationally with potential investors.
In addition to the investment promotion activities Caribbean
Export has supported the IPAs in building their capacity in the
provision of better facilitation services to the investors. The support
given which has included ICT equipment donations and training to
both agencies has contributed toward the Centre for Export and
Investment of the Dominican Republic (CEI-RD) increasing the
services delivered (technical consultations provided to investors) by
306% in 1 year (528 external queries provided in 2013 increased
to 1,618 in 2014) while its “Aftercare” department increased its
services by 36% in 1 year (from 293 responses sent to investors in
2013 to 396 in 2014).
With regards to the Center for Facilitation of Investments of
Haiti (CFI), its capacity to efficiently communicate with foreign
investors increased 100% with the creation of a new department
EXPORT DEVELOPMENT
of aftercare and a research department. In addition, provision of
real-time data being provided and the support provided to investors
has led CFI to create a social media platform, which currently has
27,871 followers on Facebook and 6,925 in Twitter.
The private sectors of Haiti and the Dominican Republic face the
same challenges as other CARIFORUM countries and the general
business climate needs to be improved in order to have a lasting
impact on their economies. Focus has therefore been placed on
specific sectors that have shown promising growth, with priority
placed on the crafts and agri-business industries because of their
potential for employment generation, particularly for women, the
impact on poverty reduction, and the opportunity for bi-national
value chain creation.
Aside from the grants and export promotions activities, support
from Caribbean Export was also given in the form of commercial
missions and study tours, to strengthen the relationships between
BSOs in both countries and best practice training sessions for
members in the private sector to assist in building their capacities.
It should be noted that this programme is coordinated with the
actions undertaken by the Agency in the framework of the 10th
EDF Regional Private Sector Development Programme, with the
assistance granted by the European Union to both countries and
by the support granted by the Inter-American Development Bank
to the CFI and the Haitian Ministry of Industry and commerce,
consequently, its implementation is aligned with international best
practices for donor coordination.
It is expected that upon its completion that this programme
will enable Haiti and the Dominican Republic to take better
advantage of the business opportunities offered, among others
by the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA),
with a view of promoting the sustainable development of Haiti
and the Dominican Republic while supporting the process of
regional integration, taking into account the requirements of
sustainable development and poverty reduction strategies as per the
central objective of the Cotonou Agreement which sets forth the
cooperation strategy between the European Union with the African,
Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).(TW)