Activity File
Improving Competitiveness and Increasing Economic Diversification in the Caribbean
The Role of ICT
Summary
In cooperation with the European Commission and the World Bank, infoDev commissioned a study on the role of ICT in improving competitiveness and increasing economic diversification in the Caribbean. The study was designed to provide recommendations on how the European Commission, the World Bank and other donors along with their interlocutors in the region could harness ICT to address the economic challenges facing the region. The report provided vital inputs into the World Bank's Growth and Competitiveness Report for the Caribbean and for the OECS, and has helped to guide the European Commission in designing programs to support economic diversification and sustainable growth in the OECS countries.
Background
The study prepared by the OTF Group provides an in-depth review of the potential for, and constraints to, the further development of competitive ICT-enabled service sectors, and the broader prospects for ICT-enabled growth, competitiveness and new business development in the Caribbean. The study includes four main components:
- A review of the position of the Caribbean economies within the international business environment and the opportunities/challenges for ICT-enabled service exports, and impediments to foreign investment;
- A review of international best practice and Caribbean experiences to date with harnessing ICT for building competitiveness and increasing growth, including detailed case studies on past and current ICT initiatives assessing what worked, what did not, why and what should have been done differently;
- An assessment of the needs with respect to regulatory and institutional environment, ICT infrastructure, and other constraints facing entrepreneurs and firms in the Caribbean;
- Actionable recommendations for appropriate regional and government actions, as well as possible support from infoDev such as business incubation (infoDev is currently supporting a network of 43 business incubators in developing countries worldwide)
A key focus of this study is on potential regional solutions (e.g. joint regulatory frameworks and other public policy initiatives) that would help to conserve on the limited public sector capacity across the region, but also overcome certain scale limitations.
This project is proudly supported and funded by the European Commission.