The Barbados Small Business Association XII Leo Leacock Memorial Lecture challenged Barbadian entrepreneurs to look beyond the domestic market and consider the opportunities emerging across the Caribbean, the Global South and the wider global economy.
Delivering the lecture, The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, SC, MP, Prime Minister of Barbados, highlighted the need for businesses to become more productive, resilient, digitally capable and prepared to compete beyond Barbados.
Look Beyond Barbados
The Caribbean basin offers opportunities for Barbadian businesses to expand into markets such as Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic and to make greater use of regional and international trade arrangements. Language barriers are becoming easier to navigate through technology, but cultural understanding and regional connections remain important advantages.
Entrepreneurs should be asking: Who else needs what I provide, and what would it take to serve them?
Turn Opportunities into Value
Agriculture, food production, the blue economy, sargassum, honey, flora and fauna, pharmaceuticals, research and technology all present opportunities to create new products and services.
The challenge is to move from identifying resources to creating value from them. This means investing in research, processing, certification, phytosanitary standards, technology and export readiness.
Think Collectively
Small businesses do not have to grow alone. The lecture highlighted the power of aggregation, whether through shared marketing, exporting, purchasing, facilities or expertise. Collaboration can allow smaller firms to access markets and opportunities that may be difficult to reach individually.
Use the Support Ecosystem
Access to capital is an important part of growth. Programmes and institutions such as Enterprise Growth Fund Ltd, Trust Loans and Fund Access can help businesses strengthen operations and pursue expansion.
The key is to connect financing to a clear business objective: increasing production, adopting technology, purchasing equipment, meeting certification requirements or entering a new market. Capital is most useful when paired with planning, skills, networks and market access.
Build for Resilience
Climate change, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, global trade disruptions and changing tariffs are reshaping the business environment. Resilience therefore needs to be part of everyday business planning.
Digitalisation, cybersecurity, financial preparedness, skills development and contingency planning can help businesses respond to disruption rather than simply react to it.
Six Areas of Opportunity
The lecture also pointed to opportunities around desalination, battery storage, photovoltaic farms, data centres, government accommodation through public-private partnerships, and the Bridgetown Port and related facilities.
For MSMEs, major projects can create opportunities throughout the supply chain—from construction and logistics to technology, professional services, maintenance and manufacturing.
The Entrepreneurial Takeaway
“Beyond Borders” is ultimately a call to change the scale at which Barbadian businesses think. The opportunity is not simply to become bigger, but to become more productive, connected, resilient and globally competitive.
Entrepreneurs should leave asking three questions: What is my next market? What capability do I need to reach it? And who can I partner with to get there?
Leave a Reply