Caribbean Investment Forum Magazine

e are living in a connected world in what is already shaping up to be the Connected Century despite inward-looking tendencies by some. The Covid-19 Pandemic is a stark reminder of this reality. However, the same connectedness that allowed for the cascading of this crisis has facilitated the massive scaling of resilient responses and out pouring of solidarity and support. Collectively, citizens, communities, businesses, and governments are trying to come to terms with the new normal, re-examining their raison d'être and relationships with each other and the planet to allow for sustainability and resilience. W

The inter-connected global economy, underpinned by digital technologies and infrastructure may be conceptualised as an ecosystem with a heterogeneous distribution of various resources, exploited by strategic actors mediated through conventions and agreements in a dynamic cl imate of competition and cooperation. The implication of such a perspective for economic actors in the Caribbean Region is to fi rst adopt an optimistic framework grounded in the idea of niche opportunities for the diversi fi cation of our economies consistent with our collective resources in strategic partnership with relevant global actors. This would require a winning mindset buttressed by a system of intelligence gathering for mapping the global techno economi c l ands cape and eme r g i ng consumer trends to inform new product and bus i ness mode l i nnovat i on , and the improvement or repositioning of existing goods and services Caribbean businesses o ff er to a global marketplace. Businesses wishing to internationalise and grow, must adopt appropriate digital technologies and business models to improve their products and production processes, establish attractive online presences to advertise these products, engage with customers, receive payments, del iver purchases, provide a ft er sales services, and connect with suppliers and logistics partners. The Covid 19 Pandemic has proven that companies in our Region can digitalise

certain aspects of their business to respond to changi ng market condi t i ons . The challenge is to incentivise more businesses to adopt and to support expansion and consolidation of adoption among companies who have already started the journey. T o f a c i l i t a t e t h i s p r o c e s s o f digitalisation, Caribbean companies will require investments of various types as they typically lack the requisite knowledge, skills, and capital to do so on their own. To guide and focus their digitalisation strategy, companies can immediately focus on crucial areas such as market presence, customer e n g a g eme n t , o p e r a t i o n s , a n d t h e organisational setup. More speci fi cally there are opportunities for investments in the following areas: Providing knowledge and skills training to management and sta ff in the understanding and management of digitalisation. Training and enabling in-country digital services specialists who will work one-on-one with companies to establish their level of digital maturity and elaborate a responsive digital adoption plan consistent with their business strategy. 1 2

CARIBBEAN INVESTMENT FORUM

13

Providing capital to fund the various investments and activities de fi ned in the adoption plan.