An Education Needs Assessment of CARIFORUM Firms

Executive Officer and Harold Davis, JP, Deputy Chief Executive Officer)

2. The JBDC had found that the ecosystem structure is young and green to support entrepreneurship – the system is anaemic – do not “sing off the same hymn sheet”. 3. Within the CARICOM region there is no clear route to market. There is no direct route to market i.e.. entrepreneurship is usually by default 4. The JBDC liaises with the policymakers, the educational institutions, speaks with the financial institutions and nurtures the ecosystem. 5. The region would benefit from a workshop on the importance of collecting and storing data on the business operations. There is a need to promote/support statistics. 6. Training for businesses should include: a. Formalising your Business - Achieving Sustainability b. Establishing relationships with banks c. Health Insurance d. Pensions e. Generational Wealth f. Introduction of Technology in Business g. E-Commerce – offering real time support to businesses with proprietary platforms h. Digitisation of support systems i. Business Transformation - Innovation 7. Caribbean Export should offer differentiated support/training. In addition to: a. A program that introduces our entrepreneurs to the export opportunities within the Caribbean and other jurisdictions b. Offer coaching sessions that take businesses step by step – how do we prepare them to enter and penetrate the market. c. Rethink who is the exporter? Is the exporter a cluster? A small/micro business? Do they see their export potential? d. Strengthen the value chain of a particular industry 1. The vision for the Caribbean Export is to become a knowledge hub – provide a simulation of data. 2. Caution not to duplicate the e-Commerce and technology labs offered by IDB. 3. Specialty courses must be linked to continuous development. Following an identification of where the region is going regarding development – Green, Renewable Energy, Agro-processing, Logistics. 4. Key questions include how do we become more efficient? How do we infuse technology and innovation in the way we do business? How do we link the private sector services sector and the goods sector? 5. The ideal course would be a modular 2 months long course. 6. Specialty training can allow for the diversification of services outside of tourism and finance. 7. There should be an emphasis on the Blue Economy, Green Economy, and Orange Economy.

Caribbean Export Development Agency

(Represented by Ms. Allyson Francis, Services Specialist)

The CARIFORUM Private Sector should have access to the following subject matter to assist in becoming competitive and increasing their exports: 1. Grant Proposal/Accessing Donor Financing

CARIFORUM EU EPA Implementation Unit CARICOM secretariat

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