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April 2014
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Issues were led by regional and international experts, including Professor Jayanta Mitra, Director, International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Research at Essex Business School, UK. Participants discussed the development of the ecosystem for the venture capital industry to fulfil economic and social roles, weaknesses in the existing financial market legislation and structure, the role of the state and the need for financial technical skills to provide for the creation of suitable financial instruments. Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Finance, Senator the Honourable Larry Howai, made the point at the opening that “increasingly, competitive advantage is being derived less from natural resources or cheap labour, and more from knowledge and technical innovations. It is vitally necessary therefore, that we transform the economy’s structure to seek new growth opportunities”. His point was that “we must begin to build knowledge-based economies.” Jwala Rambarran, Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, noted that the seminar was taking place against the backdrop of a global environment that is likely to be less favourable than in the recent past. He cautioned against the use of inappropriate models reminding that, “many governments including ours in Trinidad and Tobago have attempted to implement policies to encourage venture capital investment but, unfortunately, these efforts have either been misguided or failed to deliver the anticipated results”. The event was supported by a mix of players in the financial services sector, an indication that financial institutions are recognising the significance of pursuing new possibilities and of collaboration in efforts at capital market development. The lead partner and platinum sponsor for the event was Pan-American Life Insurance Company of Trinidad and Tobago (PALIG). PALIG CEO, Miguel Sierra agreed that the day’s discussions were an important step in addressing some of the challenges faced by the regional financial sector. “There is no question that there are important opportunities for growth in the Caribbean,” Sierra said. “The discussions we had today, with so many of the sector’s stakeholders involved, were crucial to creating the environment that will allow the region to take full advantage of its potential.” |
Regional executives from private and public sector organisations participated in a venture capital financing seminar hosted by The UWI, Caribbean Centre for Money and Finance (CCMF) at the Hyatt Conference Centre in Port of Spain.