Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 3rd Edition

Clearing The Hurdles 96

persons to visit their store inorder to generate revenue. How different would Caribbean businesses be if e-Commerce became a priority? With global e-Commerce retail sales are set to grow fromUS$2.3 trillion in 2017 to US$4.5 trillion by 2021, I spoke to Jomo Cato of Quickcanoe.com, one of the forerunners in the Caribbean e-Commerce industry about some of the challenges on the path to establishing the industry in the region. How far do you think the Caribbean is on the path to digital commerce? Cato: “Our consumers are already there. Businesses need to catch up. I believe we are going to advance quickly in a few years, however, currently many legacy Caribbean businesses and the financial industry are yet to fully appreciate and reap the benefits of a fully integrated e-Commerce model. Our view at Quickcanoe is that we have to quickly expand online so we can grow economies, create more value and capture revenue both in store and online” What is stopping persons in the region from making this switch? Cato: “Well the challenges are different depending on the size and type of your business. For smaller businesses the number one challenge is the ability to accept payments online. Regional banks are reluctant to clear SME’s for online merchant accounts because the banks are leading the conversation with a view of risk rather than an understanding of the opportunity. Secondly, the speed of onboarding is ridiculously long. We have gone through processes in the Caribbean where it’s taken us more than six months to establish a partnership with a bank, while a new US business can be accepting credit cards online within two weeks.” What about larger businesses? Surely they have resources. What’s stopping them? Cato: “The large successful businesses are comfortable. Complacency is the number one reason that I see causing a failure to move. Secondly, many top tier executives and CEOs are not rewarded or measured based on the performance of online sales. So there is no incentive in many of these companies for management and leadership to take the companies into the digital economy. Once companies start rewarding and bonusing teams for online performance and measuring this in annual reviews the attitude and hustle will change overnight.” Are the logistics in place for Caribbean E-Commerce? Is this not a major challenge? Cato: “We don’t have a problem in the region moving cargo. Our major problem lies in the unnecessary headaches individualistic country policy is creating for regional businesses at Caribbean ports. The transportation itself,

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the carriers, the logistics in the Caribbean is way better than in many other parts of the world. In our business, Quickcanoe, we have relationships in place with more than eight different carriers. In the region DHL, Caribbean Airlines, Amerijet, the Post offices in every island and independent courier services all work well. In the Eastern Caribbean, companies like CLM are moving cargo through the islands by boat in under one week. Our business, Quickcanoe removes the logistics problem for many small businesses across the region because when they become a Quickcanoe supplier we manage the process end to end.” How are Customs and Port Charges affecting E-Commerce? Cato: “We have to do two things really quickly in the Caribbean.(1)Recognizethatwearekillingcompetitiveness with export fees and (2) Ensure that customs in every island views intra-Caribbean trade as a positive for the region and not a threat to any country. Let me explain a common export barrier. For a small business person in many of the markets there are export charges on every shipment. So imagine you are selling a retail pepper sauce at US$20,

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