Minister of International Business, The Honourable Donville Inniss, M.P.,(left) and Executive Director of BIBA Henderson Holmes, at a recent BIBA Luncheon Seminar.  Photo courtesy of BGIS

Enhancing Barbados' Competitiveness

New Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development the Hon. Donville Inniss, M.P., has laid out his plans for Barbados’ international business sector. Several programmes are already in train and others are being prepared for near term development. The Minister’s intent is to enhance Barbados’ competitiveness through its business facilitation and marketing efforts.

In maintaining competitiveness, business facilitation is to be a focus and this is to be done by improving the services offered by the government. The Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office has already made some of its services available online and is working to have the full business registration process electronically accessible in the near future.

The International Business Unit which issues licences is moving to build institutional capacity and to implement a multiyear licence system. This is expected to provide greater convenience to its clientele.

New policy initiatives are to be led by the Joint Policy Working Group of the Ministry. In collaboration with key stakeholders including Invest Barbados, the office of the Chief Parliamentary Council, and the private sector, a number of issues including the implementation of legislation are to be addressed. New product development will now be managed by a Product Development Unit to be brought on stream over the next few months.

A more integrated marketing approach is also on the cards for the sector. Increased research and market intelligence will drive the expansion of Barbados’ tax treaty network, one of its major advantages as a domicile of choice. It will also form the base for Barbados’ efforts in traditional and new markets and sectors in focus. Efforts in Canada, the USA and the UK are to be strengthened, and the same goes for newer markets such as Africa, China, Eastern Europe and Latin America. This also extends to measures in place to attract investment in oil and gas, mining, wealth management, ICT as well as medical and educational services.

The sector’s importance to the Barbadian economy continues. In 2011, earnings attributed to international business reached BDS$878 million, or 9% of total GDP.