The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The private sector is in talks with the Government to create an Innovation and Productivity Council, Tribune Business was told yesterday, with an announcement likely to be forthcoming soon.

Edison Sumner, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chief executive, declined to divulge any details about the proposed Council’s membership and role, other than to say: “You’ll be hearing from us and the Office of the Prime Minister very shortly.”

He was speaking prior to a meeting yesterday that was intended to facilitate the Bahamas’ joining the Caribbean Network of Services Coalitions (CNSC), which should occur “in the next few weeks”.

Mr Sumner said CNSC membership would help this nation develop its own Coalition of Services Industries, as it was one of just three countries in the region yet to form such a body.

This, he added, meant the Bahamas had been “lagging somewhat” when it came to advocating and generating support for its services industries, which account for the majority of this country’s economic activity.

With the Bahamas now chairing the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA), Mr Sumner told Tribune Business it was a ripe time to engage its technical expertise at yesterday’s meeting to help develop a local Services Coalition for launch in early 2016.

He explained that its creation, and CNSC membership, were designed to boost the Bahamas’ services exports and expansion opportunities in the Caribbean via joint ventures, which in turn would enhance this nation’s foreign exchange earnings.

Mr Sumner said the Bahamas joining the CNSC had been “on the drawing board” for a year-and-a-half, requiring him to meet with the organisation in Barbados to progress membership discussions.

He added that the Bahamas’ membership would occur “under the umbrella” of the Chamber, which will create a Services Coalition division within its organisation. That division, in turn, will tie into the BCCEC’s existing Trade Information Services Division and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Help Desk initiatives.

“The whole idea is about networking, identifying opportunities for services providers to expand their services to other countries in the region, and attracting services into the country,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business of the CNSC membership benefits.

“Through partnerships or synergies between Bahamian providers and their counterparts in the region, we see this as being one of the ‘new industries’ that we’ve been talking about; services exports, where we export our expertise or intellectual capacity.”

Mr Sumner identified joint ventures between Bahamian services exporters and their Caribbean counterparts, in particular, as a major opportunity that CNSC membership could facilitate.

Haiti and St Kitts are the only other two Caribbean countries without their own services coalitions, and Mr Sumner said the Bahamas’ chairmanship of CEDA provided the perfect opportunity to develop its own. BAIC’s Donnalee Bowe is the Bahamian CEDA chair, with Mr Sumner standing in as her alternate when needed.

“It gives Bahamian services providers an opportunity to expand their footprint, so to speak, and develop new business opportunities and contacts throughout the region,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business of the CNSC.

“Through the export of services, we can attract foreign currency dollars into our economy. I wouldn’t say it’s going to bolster it significantly, but there will be some impact on foreign currency reserves if we export services to our counterparts in the region.

“It’s all about expanding the economy, expanding the services base, and improving the level of productivity and efficiency in the services we provide.”

Mr Sumner said Don Demeritte was the Bahamian consultant who will assist the Bahamas in becoming a CNSC member.

He added that the BCCEC Board approved ‘in principle’ this nation joining two years ago, and yesterday’s meeting was designed to develop the “framework” for this to happen.

“In the next few weeks, we’ll probably sign on and take advantage of opportunities that their [CNSC] partnership presents to our members,” Mr Sumner said.

He added that CNSC membership would also help Bahamian services companies exploit potential benefits under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU), and access potential grant funding sources - the EU, CEDA, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).