“We have to guard against anything at all that will hamper the chances of ordinary citizens from being the best that they can be.” These words from Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley sum up the tone at the opening of the IDB’s IX Annual Consultation of Caribbean Governors in Barbados. Prime Minister Mottley opened the meeting along with IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno who … [Read more...] about Caribbean potential takes center stage as Caribbean Governors meet
Barriers to Financial Access in Barbados—Key Challenges and Focal Areas for Reform
The mobilization of domestic financial resources is increasingly recognized as an important development challenge for countries around the world—this is also true for Barbados. Barriers to financial access act as a brake on private sector investment and growth, with adverse implications for broader economic development objectives. In order to shed light on this issue, our … [Read more...] about Barriers to Financial Access in Barbados—Key Challenges and Focal Areas for Reform
Crying out for credit: improving access to finance in Barbados
On September 17th, 2019, the Small Business Association of Barbados hosted a conference as part of Small Business Week 2019 under the theme Small Size, Big Thinking-Changing the Mindset for Global Engagement. One of the key takeaways of the event was the importance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as drivers of economic growth and job creation. In Barbados, the … [Read more...] about Crying out for credit: improving access to finance in Barbados
Four key reforms to bring back economic growth to Barbados
It has often been said that times of crisis can often lead to opportunity for change. Barbados is no stranger to this concept, having faced macroeconomic challenges during the past decade, including low growth, high government spending compared to revenue collection, elevated debt levels and declining international reserves (see Figures 1 to 4). This has led to an ambitious set … [Read more...] about Four key reforms to bring back economic growth to Barbados
Wait No More: Improving Government Services in the Caribbean
It’s not unusual for Caribbean citizens or firms to expect that renewing a passport or registering a new vehicle will require them to spend a full day at a government office. That is, for those fortunate enough to complete their transactions in a single visit. On average, Caribbean citizens spent over 4 hours to complete their last government transaction. And this does not … [Read more...] about Wait No More: Improving Government Services in the Caribbean