According to the UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2021 report, Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a devastating contraction of 8% for 2020 and is expected to face moderate growth of 3.8 per cent for 2021. “The recovery will likely remain fragile and uneven, with outlook risks tilted towards the downside,” the organization noted.
In light of these economic challenges, the region’s BPO industry could add tremendous value from a macro and micro-economic level.
The disruption of the Philippines’ outsourcing market as a result of the Covid-19 crisis has given Caribbean islands a unique opportunity to offer competitive Nearshore services. However, many Caribbean nations have different approaches to the sector in 2021 – some are based on the country’s capacity and others, on the short-term ability of the BPO sector to boost the domestic economy.
Interviews with various industry executives in the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada have revealed that these Caribbean islands are all implementing different strategies to encourage growth in the Nearshore sector.
The Role of the Private Sector
Gene Thompson, director of Thompson Development Ltd based in the Cayman Islands, told Nearshore Americas that the Caymans’ government has enabled strategies to allow the private sector to engage with the most lucrative market opportunities – particularly within the technology space.
While not speaking on behalf of the government, Thompson said: “What government strategy is, is to change whatever legislation, whatever enabling that needs to be done to allow the private companies to make this happen.”
Given the example of technology, Thompson said that many other countries would want the control and promotion of the industry to fall within the remit of the government. Within the Cayman Islands, the government enables the private sector through companies like TechCayman and Cayman Enterprise City, he said. These businesses act as portals through which businesses can establish operations on the island.
Meanwhile, Junia Nibbs, economic development coordinator of the Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority, told Nearshore Americas that the country tends to be reactive rather than proactive when it comes to investment promotion strategy.
“It’s not deliberate, it’s just the lack of financing,” Nibbs said, adding that the country’s focus tends to be on other issues such as investment facilitation and enterprise development, which requires less financial output.
Whereas both Ronald Theodore, CEO at Grenada Investment Development Corporation (GIDC) and Rhoda Joseph, executive director at Invest Dominica Authority, have contended that the strategies destinations use to attract attention post Covid-19 must be reworked and updated.
Why Caribbean Islands Are Different
Joseph argued that Dominica is known as “nature island” throughout the Caribbean and brand awareness around this unique factor would make the island distinct from others. “We’re really going to be placing a premium on high value niche areas,” she said.
According to Joseph, since Dominica has a small population, it doesn’t want to attract investments that don’t fit culturally.
Theodore noted that Grenada is one of the safest and most picturesque islands in the Caribbean. “Based on the sector you’re promoting, there are different attributes that we can use to sell the island,” he noted.
Furthermore, Nibbs said that Antigua and Barbuda had always positioned itself within the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) as the leader in attracting overseas investments. He said that this is because of “our nearness to the United States, which is what we’re focusing on; the similarity in language and culture, and we have very good air connectivity.”
Nibbs noted that the country also has reasonably good telecommunications infrastructure and great quality of life, like Grenada.
Thompson also suggested that the Cayman Islands could become a unique tech hub. Although the Covid-19 protocols have hindered travel and the ability to market the destination as such through conferences and networking, many companies have discovered the island through word of mouth.
