Outgoing Caribbean Export Development Agency chairman Dr Lynette Holder said on Friday she leaves the organisation with its finances restored, wider international funding partnerships and more than US$170m ($340m) in targeted investment capital attracted to over 30 regional projects during her five-year tenure.
In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Dr Holder, also chief executive of the Barbados Small Business Association (SBA), said Caribbean Export has built a solid, sustainable foundation for expanding micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Reflecting on her five-year tenure as head of the intergovernmental trade and investment promotion body representing 15 CARIFORUM member states, Dr Holder highlighted key changes in how it tackles barriers to commerce: access to growth capital, capacity building and institutional governance.
As the Caribbean Investment Forum ended here on Thursday, she said CIF’s creation was key to connecting regional business operators directly with international investors and alternative funding sources to expand beyond traditional banking arrangements.
She said: “CIF was created in my first year on the board and launched in 2022 with the specific remit of bringing business owners and operators to meet investors and attract funding for their projects so they can scale.
“This was a direct response and solution to the perennial issue where MSMEs were unable to attract the adequate financial resources they needed to move beyond traditional players.”
By packaging projects for investment, the initiative has attracted substantial funding for private businesses in the Caribbean. During her tenure, Caribbean Export packaged over 30 regional projects, attracting more than US$170m in targeted investment capital, she said.
Dr Holder explained that overcoming MSME export barriers required a methodical, three-tiered approach rather than fragmented efforts. This strategy combined specialised workshops and training, non-reimbursable seed funding grants to address immediate operational difficulties, and large-scale events such as CIF to secure capital for expansion.
“It has been a very methodical approach, in my view, to helping our MSMEs over time. We have provided grant resources — non-reimbursable grants — to help with capacity building, and then established fora like CIF to help firms scale beyond $10 000, $20 000, or $50 000 in seed capital to attract significant resources.”
Acknowledging the scale of the task ahead, the outgoing chair cited remarks Prime Minister Mottley made at CIF that while $170m represents notable progress, businesses across the wider Caribbean still require substantial capital investment.
“Do we have a long way to go? Yes, we have much to accomplish,” Dr Holder added. “As Prime Minister Mottley noted, $170 million is still a small amount within the context of the wider Caribbean. We know there is much more that we have to do and much further that we have to go to take our firms forward, but we have successfully built the partnerships to make that possible.”
A key part of Dr Holder’s legacy was expanding the agency’s financial and strategic partnerships, she said. While the European Union was the main funding partner for most of Caribbean Export’s 30-year existence, its international relationships expanded over the past five years.
The agency secured technical and financial resources from Canada and the Caribbean Development Bank, and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Talks with the United States on securing resources were ongoing, she added.
But she said major improvements in internal governance and restored financial stability were her proudest organisational achievement. She confirmed that regional governments have stepped up to fulfil their statutory counterpart contributions, restoring the agency’s operational reserves.
She continued: “Caribbean Export is an intergovernmental agency of 15 CARIFORUM member states, and initially, we had a situation where a number of member states were not honouring their counterpart funding.
“I am leaving now, at our next board meeting, confident that our member states have stepped up and are fully supporting this organisation once again. We started off in financial management in the red; now we are in the black because governments have seen the value and are paying their counterpart contributions.”
Responding to trade disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic required the agency to adapt quickly. Holder credited Caribbean Export staff and external development partners for providing rapid assistance during the regional economic fallout.
As she prepares to return to her substantive post leading the SBA, Dr Holder offered the incoming board of directors a cricket metaphor to summarise the agency’s current position.
“We have set a good batting wicket for the incoming board to play on,” Dr Holder said. “We have touched on the key areas: governance, strategic planning, sound financial management, accountability, and transparency. The foundations are firmly in place. My advice is to continue what has been started, build on those successes, advocate for the sector, and continue to back our regional enterprises.”
She added that she looks forward to continuing her work with Caribbean Export through her SBA role, drawing on regional funding sources to benefit Barbadian enterprises and businesses.
(RR)
The post Holder exits Caribbean Export with ‘finances restored, wider funding partnerships’ appeared first on Barbados Today.
