Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Barbados and the Caribbean now have some additional help in their quest to transform their operations digitally.
This comes with the introduction of the Caribbean Digital Transformation Institute (CDTI), which is being implemented by the Barbados-based Caribbean Export Development Agency in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank and Compete Caribbean.
Speaking at the recent launch of the CDTI, Caribbean Export chairperson Dr Lynette Holder said there were “not merely launching an institute, we are institutionalising the future of a digital Caribbean”.
“The evidence suggests that Caribbean firms that adopt digital tools are significantly more likely to export, improve productivity and access new customers, and at the same time, however, a significant proportion of regional MSMEs have yet to fully integrate digital technologies into their operations, and many continue to face barriers related to skills, financing and infrastructure,” said Holder, who is also chief executive officer of the Small Business Association.
“So it is precisely within this context that the Caribbean Digital Transformation Institute emerges as both timely and necessary. This institute is a strategic response to a regional imperative.
“It is designed to equip our businesses, institutions and entrepreneurs, with the tools, knowledge and capabilities required to compete in an increasingly digital global marketplace.
“It will serve as a platform for building digital skills and fostering innovation from agribusiness and manufacturing to services and the creative industries.”
Caribbean Export executive director Dr Damie Sinanan said the CDTI came “at a very pivotal time for small- and medium-sized enterprises in the Caribbean region”.
“We like to say that we have to innovate, and we have to really move from a consumption-based society to become more future-driven businesses. But the fact is, the Caribbean region is lagging very far behind. We have to play catch-up,” he said.
“We view the CDTI as a really a strategic intervention designed to give small and medium-sized enterprises in the Caribbean the digital tools, e-commerce capabilities and operational efficiency that they need to thrive,” he noted.
“It’s really going to provide the type of capacity building support that will bridge the digital divide as an economic necessity towards building regional resilience, the CDTI will serve as a hub for capacity building, ensuring that no SME is left behind.”
He called the initiative “a very strong partnership between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
and the Complete Caribbean”.
“By pooling our resources and expertise, we view this as building a very robust support ecosystem for small and medium sized enterprises in the Caribbean region. We have to realise that we can’t do it alone, and we can’t work in silos. We have to spread and pool resources if we have to achieve the maximum efficiency possible,” Sinanan stated.
“So while we continue to pivot in this digital divide, the CDTI will focus on long -term sustainable sustainability. It will help businesses navigate this digital landscape so that they can withstand future economic and environmental shocks.”
Dr Sylvia Dohnert, private sector principal specialist at the IDB, saw the CDTI as “a response to the promise what digital technology offers to Caribbean businesses, but also the difficulties that businesses in the Caribbean face in digital transformation”.
Compete Caribbean executive director Kayla Grant called it “a powerful regional public good . . . that will strengthen the ecosystem supporting MSMEs and help to position the Caribbean firms to compete, innovate and grow in a digital global economy”.
“This initiative directly addresses one of the region’s most persistent challenges, and it’s this question of how we’re enabling our MSMEs to effectively adopt and leverage digital technologies in a way that will improve their productivity, but also how we’re helping them to access markets and to grow and to innovate,” she said.
“This technology extension services initiative, which will be coming soon in the future, it complements the CDTI. What the CDTI is essentially doing is helping to build capabilities and digital readiness.
“And then this technology extension services work that we’re doing will help to translate that knowledge and capabilities and hopefully support with concrete investments in digital technology and productivity, enhancing investments technology adoption, and also how we’re supporting in accessing the funds that firms will need.” (SC)
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