Implementation of the 10th EDF Regional Provate Sector Programme

ENHANCING COMPETITIVENESS AND PROMOTING INNOVATION

from investors; however the majority of the IPAs were under-budgeted, and receiving limited support and recognition which in turn hampers investment promotion implementation regionally. Other challenges include excessive energy costs, limited intra-island transportation links and infrastructural development, and access to finance. Overall, the regional stakeholder consultations increased awareness for Caribbean Export’s work in investment promotion, provided support for the development of the RIPS and validation of the Agency’s work in this area; as well as increased Caribbean Export’s knowledge of the challenges being faced by individual territories in investment promotion and facilitation. In July 2014, on conclusion of the regional consultations, Caribbean Export in collaboration with CAIPA, hosted the RIPS Validation meeting in Trinidad and Tobago. The session was convened with the aim of advancing the design and implementation of the Strategy, which seeks to increase the awareness of the Caribbean as a destination for FDI, as well as to change the perceptions of investors who may only see the region as a place for leisure, as opposed to business. At the end of the discussions, a consensus was reached, with Caribbean Export being seen as the lead on the RIPS development and implementation. A total of 27 IPA professionals, private sector representatives, and key stakeholders from the CARICOM

Secretariat, EU, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat, Caribbean Congress of Labour, and Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange, participated in the validation process. The RIPS was finalised in September 2014, with a defined implementation plan and funding guideline to facilitate its execution. In summation, achievements of this result area involved the convening of eight RIPSC meetings, which saw participation from 174 regional stakeholders. This subsequently led to the finalisation of the RIPS in September 2014, following validation and endorsement of the Strategy by 19 IPAs and eight industry stakeholders representing the public and private sector, academia, and international agencies. Current follow-up actions include the development of the National Investment Promotion Strategy (NIPS) Handbook. This step-by-step guide publication is the first in a series of advisory documents on investment promotiontobepublishedbyCaribbean Export, and serves as a practical guide on how to develop and implement national investment promotion strategies. The NIPS Guide is the result of work undertaken by the Agency, through the services of Consultoria Financiera Integral (CIF), the consultant commissioned to develop the RIPS and its Implementation Plan, and draws on the lessons learnt and research undertaken during the Strategy’s development.

the local institutional investment promotion landscape.

A total of 44 meetings were held in the 10 countries. During these sessions, there was the validation of key priority sectors for the Caribbean region including tourism, logistics and transhipment, renewable energy, agriculture and agro-processing, health and wellness, and specialised services such as offshore education, and medical tourism. In relation to the organisational structure of IPAs and institutional investment promotion landscape, the mission revealed that approximately 70% of investment promotion work was focused on the processing or reviewing of incentive submissions

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