Eyes set on Havana market

Industry Minister, Donville Inniss has asked Barbados Investment & Development Corporation (BIDC) to considered making Havana, Cuba a priority market.

He made the called as he asked local manufacturers to expand beyond these shores. His comments also come on the heels of the BIDC spearheaded trade mission to Cuba during the first week of May.

 

“We often complained about people coming into our space but I don’t think we have been doing enough to get up and out into other people’s space and that is why we would have recently ventured into St. Lucia, Grenada and Guyana and only last week into Cuba.”

 

He added, “Our regional venture into Cuba last week has really brought home the fact that,  that is a market next door- 11.5 million people, 3.5 million tourists and expected to get up to 9 million over the next five years. Spanish cannot be a hindrance of us accessing that market and once we get into Cuba, Ambassador, we are going to get into Central America. Already, I have asked the BIDC…to consider having a presence in Havana.”

 

Inniss was at the time addressing last Friday’s Massy United Insurance Limited BMEX Opening Ceremony at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. 

In his remarks, the Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development also told members of the local manufacturing sector “we need to be bold. We need to be creative. 

 

We need to start not just thinking but acting outside of the box and get into new markets. That is the only way we are going to move not just the manufacturing sector but our economy forward.” (MG)