KINGSTON, Jamaica – Representatives of the regional private sector, local organising committees for Cricket World Cup and other regional bodies participated in a two-day workshop to further develop the Caribbean Business Opportunities Service (CBOS) and Caribbean Business Club (CBC), two services that organizers hope will impact the way business is done in the region.
The workshop, facilitated by David Faulks, Cricket Legacy Strategy Project Leader and Kenia Mattis of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Jamaica’s investment and export promotions agency, and the Grenada Chamber of Industry of Commerce (GCIC), sought to clarify the operations of CBOS and the Business Club and how each participating Caribbean territory can benefit.
Faulks explained that CBOS is designed to identify buyers and suppliers for goods and services for major projects and events in the region, including the Cricket World Cup (CWC), to do business in a more efficient and cost effective manner.
He said while CBOS promotes trade and partnerships among regional businesses, the Caribbean Business Club is designed to connect and develop relationships between Caribbean businesses and their counterparts outside the region. The Club also provides a mechanism for Caribbean businesses to connect with visitors who come to the region for major events.
He highlighted successes of other business Clubs around the Sydney Olympics, the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and the Athens Olympic Games as examples of what can be achieved. Among the club’s objectives is the establishment of high level contacts with key executives from the top 100 companies across the region with the 200 top executives from targeted countries outside the region.
Faulks said other key objectives include the increase of exports from the region and stimulating new international business prospects into the region which private sector officials say if successful, will provide increased employment and a greater volume of trade.
President of the Chamber of Commerce Nigel John and the Vice Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for Cricket world Cup, Christopher De Allie both endorsed the need for business people in all sectors to benefit from the hosting of the world’s largest cricketing tournament in the Caribbean in 2007.
“We need to find ways of bringing the benefits of Cricket World Cup to the people of Grenada in general and to the people of Grenada in particular,” said De Allie. He says the meeting will help focus business people in the right direction.
He said while the Club is not specifically tied to Cricket World Cup, the activity
“provides an opportunity to recruit international members,” in order to connect with key international businesspeople who are attending the event.
Nigel John, who also represented the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce, said the organization was seeking ways of harmonizing its own plans with that of the CBOS and CBC to strengthen the private sector in the region and to forge new alliances, with international counterparts.
Participants at the meeting reviewed the two programmes and provided “useful information” for their improvement prior to full launch across the Caribbean. The meeting agreed to the establishment of a steering committee to drive the process.
About CBOS
The Caribbean Business Opportunities Service (CBOS), managed by the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) is designed to maximise business opportunities for Jamaican and Caribbean companies related to providing goods and services for upcoming major events and projects.
About Caribbean Business Club Caribbean Business Club is a business development initiative of the Jamaica Promotions Corporation, Jamaica’s trade and investment promotion agency, in partnership with Cable and Wireless Jamaica and Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo).
The Club is supported by Jamaica’s leading business organisations, Jamaica Cricket 2007 and the Legacy Advisory Group. Public and private sector partnerships led by JAMPRO, Cable and Wireless Jamaica and (JPSCo), have driven the successful launch of the Caribbean Business Club and the Caribbean Business Opportunity Service in Jamaica.
