Caribbean Investment Forum Magazine

The Caribbean was at the forefront of the COP26 cl imate change negotiations that took place in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021. We saw representation at the highest levels and our leaders such as the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley having a massive impact. The theme of climate fi nancing has been a constant, alongside the acute climate-induced challenges faced by small islands like ours in the Caribbean. Even if some of the promised but elusive fi nancing becomes available, key questions remain unanswered: Who will implement? Who are the essential partners? One key variable is the role of innovation, especially as it relates to the private sector which has been insu ffi ciently emphasised. We in the Caribbean cannot undertake e ff ective climate action and a green economy transition without partnering with an innovative private sector. S At this crucial time and now more than ever we need to nurture innovation in the Caribbean private sector for a green economy transition which will also create jobs and opportunity for our people. Innovation is vital since it also drives productivity and competitiveness, two areas where we need to do much better. Indeed, the ability to develop new products and services, develop and enter new markets and alter internal routines has always been at the core of entrepreneurial success. Given the importance of innovation, how are we doing as a Caribbean? The World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index (GII) ranks the innovation ecosystem performance of 132 economi es and p r ov i des a usefu l perspective. The top 15 ranked countries are predominantly developed countries, except for Singapore and China.

The only count r ies ranked from the Caribbean Community and the Dominican Republic also known as the CARIFORJM Caribbean are Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago, which were ranked at 74, 93, and 97 respectively. Given that those that are on the list are in the bottom half of the 132 ranked countries, there is much room for improvement to help our private sector become more innovative. This in turn will help fast-track a green economy transition creating jobs and opportunity for our people. A useful start will be to focus on a few high priorities starting with investment in research and development. We need to strive to i m p r o v e t h e r e g i o n ’ s i n n o v a t i o n performance. The data is sparse, but it is evident our region underperforms compared to other parts of the world. During the period from 2008 to 2018, Latin America and the Caribbean’s combined expenditure on research and development as a percentage of GDP averaged 0.71%, according to the World Bank. By comparison, developed countries invested 2.41% of GDP in this important area. More speci fi cally in terms of our Region, Trinidad and Tobago which is one of the largest economies spends just 0.06% of GDP on research and development, which though perhaps is one of the highest in the Region, is still inadequate for these times. Unless the entire Region makes a bigger commitment, we will continue to lag. Unless the entire Region makes a bigger commitment, we will continue to lag.

CARIBBEAN INVESTMENT FORUM

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