December 2016

Compete Caribbean set to host Women's Economic Empowerment Workshop 
The first phase of Compete Caribbean will officially close on February 5th 2017, and a second one (The Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility) will start thereafter. The Partnership Facility, funded by some of the same Compete Caribbean partners, will deepen the results of the first phase by focusing even more on the variables that impact productivity in the Caribbean, including gender empowerment. On January 24, 2017, Compete Caribbean will be holding an internal workshop on “Boosting productivity in the Caribbean through gender empowerment initiatives.” The purpose of the workshop will be:

  • (i)To identify measurable gender indicators that relate to enhancing productivity, innovation and competitiveness in the Caribbean.

  • (ii)To identify activities within the Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility’s objectives that could be undertaken to impact those measurable gender indicators.

  • (iii)To develop a monitoring and evaluation strategy for assessing gender indicators at the project level

The workshop will open with a presentation by Jeni Klugman , Managing Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and Fellow, Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard Kennedy School and will focus on the evidence at the global level of increasing women’s economic empowerment and its impact on economic development. Then, Caribbean intellectuals from the University of the West Indies and from the UN’s Women initiative will discuss gender and its link to Caribbean firm performance. These context-setting sessions will be followed by an internal work session.

For more information on the UN High Level Panel findings on the impact of Women’s Economic Empowerment on economic growth, click here

The Legacy of Pure Grenada

Historically, Grenada’s destination marketing has profiled the typical Caribbean offering of ‘sea, sun and sand’ and in many cases has been promoted with little input from Grenada’s tourism industry by international tour operators. In 2012 The Grenada Hotel and Tourist Association (GHTA) adopted a Geotourism Destination Management Plan (DMP) to sustainably increase the sector’s growth and profitability. 

Geotourism is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place including its environment, heritage, aesthetics, culture, and the well-being of its residents.  Unspoilt by overdevelopment, industrialization or crime National Geographic Society has named Grenada as one of the Top 20 Destinations in the World in 2013. 

With the help of Compete Caribbean, key elements of the DMP were completed, including the development of a new brand that would encompass the essence of Grenada as a country – “Pure Grenada.”

As part of an outreach campaign to inculcate, share and preserve the spirit of Grenada as tourism destination over the next generation, key features of Pure Grenada brand development have been encapsulated within an educational guide for school children. 

Through this medium, it is hoped that sustainable awareness and high level of national responsibility regarding geotourism in Grenada is developed and maintained. 

Stay tuned for when this publication will be made available.



Redefining Access to Finance in the Caribbean


Alternative finance (AF) or “crowdfunding” is the most notable financial technology (fintech) business model in Latin America and the Caribbean. Although still small in volume, reaching US$110.46 million across the region, its rapid growth poses a challenge for regulators. This paper offers a conceptual understanding of the typical enterprise model for AF, and from it describes the main challenges for regulators. It proposes recommendations for policymakers and regulators, taking into account the need for balance and proportion in terms of the nature, size, and character of the platform.

In the Caribbean, where business managers cite access to finance as one of the top three constraints to firm growth, alternative financing mechanisms could be useful as new sources of credit for firms.  
Compete Caribbean | 246 627 8527 | 246 429 8869 | competecaribbean@iadb.org | competecaribbean.org