The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian businesses were yesterday urged to look "beyond the borders" and expand their footprint, a top private sector representative saying: "There are markets at our doorstep."

Edison Sumner, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation's (BCCEC) chief executive, told Tribune Business: "The Bahamas is a fantastic country. Notwithstanding our economic challenges and weaknesses, we are going very well compared to other countries in the region. When you travel around the region you get the sense that they still hold The Bahamas in very high regard.

"For anyone who wants to grow their business, while they may start out as a small business, their ambition might be to grow their business, seek other opportunities, attract new products and new customers. The Bahamas is a good market but not the only market.

"Anyone who seeks to expand their business opportunities should seek to do so in the country first, but there should always be the impetus to seek other markets in order to grow their business, especially if you want to become large players. There are many markets right at our doorstep, right in the Caribbean and Latin America."

Following last week's four-day trade mission to Haiti, Mr Sumner said the Chamber was now looking to its Trade Seminar and Expo set for Wednesday at the Melia Nassau Beach Resort. The event will highlight trade and export topics, the logistics of trade and the Customs Electronic Single Window (ESW). Over 40 Bahamian vendors/producers are also expected to be present.

"We are not only creating a space for those who may wish to showcase their goods and services, but we are also doing this in a way where we are providing a platform or facility for persons to actually come and learn more about what is going on in the world of trade, particularly for those looking to do cross border trade or looking at exporting themselves outside of the country," Mr Sumner said.

"For that to happen we have invited in some experts who are trade facilitators and logistics experts, and who are going to be talking about how we can prepare ourselves to access some of the more lucrative markets in the world like Africa, Asia and other parts of the Caribbean.

"There are going to be some live workshops. We're going to have some demonstrations from the trade portal, which is going to be there to aid persons who are looking to access foreign markets and get more exposure to their companies."

Mr Sumner said the Chamber was already seeing results from its recent Haiti trip. "We saw a number of hand shakes and linkages being established, and we already seen some follow-up on the part of the Bahamian businesses who have an interest in doing any level of business in Haiti," he added.

"Anything we are promoting we are doing it with a view to establish linkages with local companies here through joint ventures or other forms of partnerships. We believe one of the ways we can ensure sustainable growth through FDI is whether there are Bahamian components involved in those projects. We are going to be seeking to create and promote more joint venture type arrangements in the country, and we hope to shed some light on those types of opportunities coming out of this symposium."