Caribbean Chambers Join Forces

From lack of financial and regulatory support to uneven economies of scale, the Caribbean’s private sector has always walked a rocky road.  The numerous obstacles on the domestic, regional and international stages have necessitated strong advocacy groups and stakeholders are now taking it to the next level with the launch of the Caribbean Network of Chambers of Commerce (CARICHAM).

“It was a long road to get here, but we are delighted that this network has been launched,” says CARICHAM Chairperson Lizra Fabien. “This is the first time such a network has been established and we believe that there is no better time than the present for greater regional integration in the private sector.”

Adding value

Discussions around what would eventually become CARICHAM began in 2017, spearheaded by the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Fabien came onboard in mid-2018 and, as Executive Director of the Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce, was happy to get her own Chamber involved in the project. She says: “We realised that a gap existed where we needed to enhance collaboration for the advancement of our region.”

At first, the Chambers met virtually — scheduling regular online conferences that proved to be an efficient and affordable way of connecting the various branches. But stakeholders soon decided to take the organisation to the next level and CARICHAM was officially launched at the start of April in Barbados when sixteen regional Chambers of Commerce, including Saint Lucia’s, came together to sign a Memorandum of Understanding.

The launch event marked the group’s first physical meeting and the mood was optimistic with regional players ready to take on longstanding private sector problems. “The first meeting was a great success,” says Fabien. “The feedback thus far has been remarkable.” Coming out of the forum, members decided on four areas of focus: advocacy; disaster risk reduction; knowledge and best practice sharing; and transportation, trade facilitation and promotion.

“Our core objective is to enhance our value proposition for our respective membership,” says Fabien who describes CARICHAM as “a platform to encourage more exchanges among our members and, in turn, improve awareness and provide economic opportunities,” and adds: “In essence, we seek to create exponential value by enhancing our trade, connecting more businesses, reducing losses and advocating with related stakeholders inclusive of regional and international development partners.”

Opportunities and obstacles

Most of the members of the Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture are small or micro-sized enterprises. CARICHAM gives these smaller players a route into regional markets, according to Fabien who says: “Members of Chambers [such as Saint Lucia’s] are able to leverage this platform to facilitate greater economic activity specifically as they are small. Anecdotal evidence is already suggesting that more firms are interested in doing more business regionally through their communication with our various Chambers.”

CARICHAM wants to take on the big obstacles to growth faced by all businesses in the region. For Fabien, the biggest concerns include poor transportation links and vulnerability to natural disasters. She’s also focused on the region’s lack of competitiveness arising from shortfalls in the area of Ease of Doing Business and an inability to fairly compete with larger countries who have more resources at their disposal.

“Our businesses suffer from high cost of raw materials, disruption in transport routes and utilities, supply chain gaps [and] high operating costs, all of which result in a lack of competitiveness.”

CARICHAM, which was established with the help of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction, the European Union and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, intends to exploit its regional and international partnerships to make progress in these areas. Fabien says: “CARICHAM will ensure that best practices are shared, learned, amended as necessary and implemented across the region to ensure that we mitigate against future challenges. We will also collaborate with all partners regionally and internationally to determine and implement solutions to the challenges we face.”

Work ahead

Unanimously voted by her colleagues to serve as CARICHAM’s first chairperson was a “great honour” for Fabien, but the Dominican businesswoman knows there is a lot of work ahead. She wants her tenure to be characterised by an emphasis on strengthening capacity through engagement. Fabien wants to establish and convene working groups to draw up 12 to 24 month action plans, then collaborate with agencies that can deliver on those findings. At all stages, she wants to ensure CARICHAM members are fully able to participate and that their voices are heard.

“I am greatly humbled as I believe that this is a unique opportunity to support the advancement of our region,” she says. “Our immediate priorities are to solidify our pillars through the implementation of our action plans. These will provide a pathway for our network in the short and medium term.”

The network intends to resume meeting online, hosting virtual general meetings at least once a quarter or more frequently if needed. The working groups, comprised of Chamber Executive Directors and members, will get together more often to chart their progress. Fabien says there will be no shortage of dialogue as the group pulls together to achieve its goals. “Our robust method of digital communication allows us to communicate weekly, and in some cases daily, as we are able to share information of common interest.

“As we strengthen our Chambers to provide enhanced value at local and regional levels, this should be translated into economic benefits and stronger economies. This will not occur in an instant but, with persistent efforts, we will realise the growth we desire.”