Barbados needs investment policy for overseas Barbadians

 

An investment strategy must be developed for the diaspora.
 
Consul General of Barbados at New York, Dr. Donna Hunte-Cox, shared this opinion while fielding a question after presenting last Friday’s lunchtime lecture at the Democratic Labour Party, as she said there were many Barbadians living overseas seeking to invest in projects back home.
 
“We have to have an investment strategy for diaspora. We have an investment strategy for the large companies, the offshore companies and persons that have large sums of money, but there are Barbadians who 
have their 401 thousand dollars, they have their monies etcetera, and they would love to invest in Barbados, but unfortunately there is no apparent diaspora strategy for investment that will encourage those persons and divert their attention to specific areas that they can become involved in.
 
“Yes we have persons who will buy a house here and may buy property, but there are other areas for investment and we need to have a specific diaspora strategy that we can reach out to the diaspora and promote those opportunities,” she said.
 
Reminding those gathered that consulates represent all sectors of their respective countries, including education, tourism, agriculture, manufacturing etcetera, Hunte-Cox insisted that there must be more interaction with these industries to highlight those areas which can be invested in.
 
Explaining that there was no longer a Barbados Investment Development Corporation at the Consulate, she insisted that there was “a need to have representation for the export of Barbadian goods.”
 
“If I want pepper sauce in New York, I have to run out and buy one from Jamaica. If I want seasoning, I have to go and buy it and it is from Jamaica. Jamaica is far bigger and has a lot more money to push in product etcetera but we would like to see a lot more of Barbados’ products out there,” she said, underlining the importance of diversification to reduce competition with similar products. (JMB)

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