Opportunities

Relevant background

The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) in collaboration with the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the European Union, and the CARICOM Secretariat will be hosting the Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) in Guyana in July 2024.

The hosting of the Forum will serve to:

• Generate investment into priority sectors in the Caribbean
• Build partnerships with key business entities, that can be sustained over time
• Promote the Caribbean as a place for investment
• Showcase opportunities/areas for investment
• Showcase successful investment in the Caribbean
• Engage potential investors and financing institutions regarding their interest and requirements for investing in the opportunities
• Pitch specific ventures to specific investors
• Increase the Caribbean’s insertion into the global business community through the creation of links with journals, newsletters, key influencers and networks
• Work towards attaining the sustainable development goals focused on no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, decent work and economic growth, life on land and partnerships

The focus for this event will be placed on presenting bankable investment opportunities in priority sectors which will include sustainable agriculture, green economy transition and the digitalization of business.
To support the effective implementation of this event an experienced marketing and communications agency is required to support the production of the Caribbean Investment Forum – Guyana.

Overall Objective

The overall objective of the Consultancy is to promote the Caribbean Investment Forum by raising the profile of the event in the international market through effective marketing and public relations.

Specific Activities

The consultant is expected to carry out the following activities amongst others.

Event Marketing and Promotions
Lead the development and implementation of an integrated communications plan that includes but is not limited to the following:

• Develop key messages for the forum in keeping with the objectives
• Develop the creative look for CIF2024
• Collaborate with our web developer to design the 2024 Caribbean Investment Forum website
• Design and develop promotional materials e.g. social media content (e-flyers, web banners, digital graphics), sponsorship deck, info sheets, project documents etc., sourcing imagery as needed
• Develop a monthly content calendar
• Develop and implement an email marketing plan including automations
• Communications activities such as writing media releases and articles for circulation and placement with international and local news outlets, investment industry media outlets or niche groups that may have an interest in the Caribbean Investment Forum
• Prepare media invites to both local and regional media and work towards confirming their coverage/attendance at the event
• Secure guest appearances with relevant media outlets leading up to the event
• Develop artwork for event signage and materials e.g., physical and digital banners as necessary for the venue and in market advertising; event agenda and the event app

Required Documentation

The Applicant must submit a technical and detailed financial proposal together with the completed Applicant Declaration Form to Ms. Deidre Brathwaite dbrathwaite@carib-export.com and copied to rthevenin@carib-export.com no later than 5:00 pm AST on February 25, 2024.

Download the full terms of reference.

Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) is the regional trade and investment promotion agency focused on building a resilient Caribbean by providing cutting-edge and high-impact support to the private sector. The Agency works to expand the trade potential of the region by supporting private sector development, attracting foreign investment and building the capacity of regional business support organisations. Headquartered in Barbados, with a sub-regional office in the Dominican Republic, Caribbean Export is funded and supported by the 15 members states of CARIFORUM. The Agency also partners with many regional and international donors, including the EU, IADB and CDB.

Caribbean Export is seeking a Consultant – Audit/Finance Assistant to assist the Manager-Operations with ongoing audits and work directly with the external auditors. The Consultant will also support the Finance Team with policy formulation and other agreed deliverables during the consultancy period.

Reporting to the Manager- Operations, the Consultant will contribute significantly to the accountability and transparency of Caribbean Export and support the operational efficiency of the Agency.

Key Tasks/Deliverables

• Assist the Manager-Operations with the preparation of annual consolidated financial statements and audit schedules for outstanding audits
• Advise on accounting entries and perform reconciliations of sub-ledgers and general ledger accounts, including related-party accounts and foreign currency transactions
• Act as the internal and external audit liaison, respond to audit queries and provide supporting documentation for audit samples
• Provide input into policy formulation to update the Agency’s finance and operations procedures and processes
• Assist the Finance team with physical filing of documents, and on Sharepoint

Any other duties as required by the Agency, including project- related audit requests by donors. The Consultant will be required to liaise with the Sub Regional Office on audit related queries.

Download the full terms of reference below.

Deadline for Application

Deadline for application is 4:00pm (AST) on Monday 19^th February 2024. You will be required to provide copies of your academic qualifications with the application. All applications should be emailed to HR@carib-export.comwith the subject ‘Consultant – Audit/Finance Assistant’.

This call for applications is launched in the framework of Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, a five-year programme implemented by the UNESCO Regional Office in Havana with the support of the European Union.

The overall purpose of the programme is to deepen cultural integration in the Caribbean and to strengthen people-to-people cooperation and exchange within the region and with the European Union.  In particular, the Entrepreneurship and Incubator component aims to strengthen capacities for the development of new cultural projects, self-employment, and start-up/scale-up activities. The innovative and entrepreneurial project development supported by the programme will improve beneficiaries’ access to new knowledge, markets, management models and sources of funding.

In this context, the Entrepreneurship incubator:  Integration into an entrepreneurial regional ecosystem is an online incubator initiative which offers a nexus for creative entrepreneurs to share their thought-provoking ideas and work within a wider community of cultural professionals. Through this initiative, creative and scalable project ideas, within the Cultural and Creative Industries and in their early stages of generation, will be provided with the opportunity to connect and build on a collaborative ecosystem to increase entrepreneurial capacities for the creation of competitive business and relevant connections for the generation of funding and self-employment opportunities.

During this eight-week programme, from late February 2024 to mid-April 2024, participants will engage in a variety of enriching activities designed to enhance their entrepreneurial skills through developing and activating a creative ecosystem in the Caribbean.

Access the terms and conditions of the call and apply!

¡Accede a las bases de la convocatoria y solicita tu plaza!

Accédez aux termes et conditions de l’appel à candidatures et postulez !

The UNESCO programme Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, funded by the European Union, invites young Caribbean entrepreneurs in the field of jazz to engage in a space to encourage creativity in its maximum cultural and business expression for three days in the framework of the ‘Jazz Emprende 2024’ event, which will take place from 27 to 29 February in Havana, Cuba.

As part of this event, the Transcultura programme has joined hands with the Organising Committee of ‘Jazz Emprende’ to provide an opportunity to four (4) young Caribbean entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 35 ‐ particularly women ‐ with a cultural and creative project in the field of the jazz music, to benefit from a variety of scaled-up activities such as entrepreneurship workshops, masterclasses, networking, concerts, among others.  

The applicants should represent one of the following 16 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, as well as Trinidad and Tobago[1].

This initiative will facilitate a high visibility of the selected Caribbean entrepreneurs in the international jazz market, including empowering jazz cultural professionals’ entrepreneurial skills, fostering collaboration and innovation within the industry at the regional level, and increasing the recognition of Caribbean jazz on a wider scale, leading to increased market access and economic opportunities for the region’s cultural and creative practitioners.

ACCESS THE TERMS AND CONDITION OF THE CALL HERE!

With the financial assistance of the EU, CARIFORUM has launched a project entitled “Consultancy for Capacity Building in Competition, Public Procurement and Customs and Trade Facilitation” as a part of the 11th EDF Support to CARIFORUM States in furthering the implementation of their Economic Partnership Agreement commitments and in meaningfully reaping the benefits of the Agreement. The project is being implemented by a consortium led by OCA Global Consulting and Technical Advisory Service S.L.U. (Spain) and which includes DMI (France) and Institute of Export & International Trade (UK).

On behalf of the consortium, OCA Global CTA invites qualified CARIFORUM nationals to apply for scholarships for studies at the University of Nottingham (UK) leading to the award of a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Procurement Law and Policy. There are a total of five (5) scholarships available. The postgraduate programme is a fully online programme which must be completed on a part-time basis over a period of ten (10) months. Each scholarship will cover all academic fees and the cost of all approved course materials.

To apply for a scholarship, interested persons are required to submit the required documents as one (1) PDF file via email to the following two (2) email addresses: CFEUPROJECT2023@gmail.com  and admin.epaunit@caricom.org  no later than 11.59 pm CST on Sunday February 25, 2024.

Please download the full TOR.

1. RELEVANT BACKGROUND

In 2021 the Caribbean Export Development Agency developed the Strategic Plan 2021-2024 with the theme ‘Building Business Transforming Lives for a Resilient Caribbean’. The Agency’s success in implementing the strategic plan will depend heavily on tracking progress towards expected results.

Within this plan the Agency committed to implementing a comprehensive results-based management framework. Currently, the Agency operates within a basic M&E infrastructure, where an M&E framework, Policy, Evaluation Strategy, and document dossier system have been developed to guide the Agency’s M&E operations.

The fundamental goal of Results-Based Management (RBM) is to create and use evidence/performance information/data to advance management practices and strengthen accountability and good governance.

An ongoing process of monitoring, evaluation and learning will improve delivery processes, document results, inform stakeholders about the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency of the strategic plan, and mobilize political support for sustaining and expanding the programmes.

In view of this, Caribbean Export seeks to work with an RBM specialist to support collection, management and reporting of data from the Agency’s activities through the implementation of the ongoing process of monitoring and evaluations.

2. OVERALL OBJECTIVE
The overall objective of this Consultancy is to develop and implement systems and mechanisms that ensure robust and rigorous monitoring, measurement and proactive guidance on programme, project and task implementation at the Agency.

3. REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Qualifications

A Bachelor’s degree in Project Management, Management, Internal Auditing or a related field.

3.2 Work Experience

• At least 5 years’ experience in a similar capacity in a comparable organisation.
• Demonstrable track record of achievement in the fields of project and programme management.
• Computer proficiency skills particularly in excel, Power Bi, project management applications or other data management tools.
• Excellent writing skills, particularly in technical reporting.
• Multitasking skills and the ability to perform effectively under pressure and tight deadlines.
• Relationship management skills.
• Fluent in English. Ability to communicate in French, Spanish or Dutch, desirable.

4. REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

The Applicant must submit their CV, a quotation and the completed Applicant Declaration Form.

CVs and quotations together with the Applicant Declaration Form must be submitted to Ms. JoEllen Laryea, Manager (ag) – Partnerships, Advocacy and Reporting at jlaryea@carib-export.com no later than 5.00 pm AST on January 18, 2023.

• Over 30 corporate challenges related to Smart Production have been already submitted to the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator Matching Platform.

• Leading Corporates are looking for Smart Solutions from startups to achieve sustainability, flexibility, automation, optimization, and effectiveness in their operations.

• Startups from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean are invited to develop new business opportunities by joining the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator Matching Platform.

The EU-LAC Digital Accelerator has officially started developing new international business partnerships with more than 30 corporate challenges submitted to the Matching Platform. From now on, startups from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean with innovative digital-based solutions are invited to address these challenges and develop new business opportunities by joining the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator.

The European Union finances this Matching Platform offered by the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator to corporates, startups, companies, investors and all actors involved in the EU-LAC innovation ecosystem. A consortium of 10 partners from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, led by TECNALIA Spain, are implementing this open innovation methodology with a strong commitment to bridging the digital gap and fostering partnerships to generate digital business collaborations. Once the new business partnerships are matched or established, the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator will provide acceleration services until they are investment-ready.

Open innovation business partnerships are fully activated

During an initial stage of the Smart Production Call for Challenges, corporates operating in primary, manufacturing, and service sectors have submitted their challenges. Currently, through the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator platform, they are searching for innovative digital solutions from startups and SMEs based in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean that can offer sustainability, flexibility, automation, optimization and improved effectiveness in their operations.

Several renowned corporates have adopted the open innovation methodology by the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator, including SACYR, InfoTrack, L’Oréal Group, Coninsa, Volkswagen Innovation Group and CAF. By sharing their challenges, these leading corporates have expressed their interest in undergoing a digital transformation to improve, renovate and/or diversify their activities. Only a few selected startups will be chosen to collaborate with these corporates and come with their digital technologies to address their challenges and thrive businesses.

Connecting with venture clients and expanding business 

Among the opportunities offered by the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator to the innovative startups, it is worth highlighting the following:

• Expand internationally by developing joint collaborations
• Development of a customised business roadmap from highly-qualified experts
• Receive acceleration services (valued up to 40 k€ – no equity taken)
• Establishment of venture-client collaboration with leading corporates
• Access to financial and investment resources
• Get visibility through an international prestigious network

Startups Solutions: how to apply?

The EU-LAC Digital Accelerator is looking continuously for startups based in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to solve digital challenges for corporates willing to transition to the smart era. To be selected, the startup/SMEs with a digital-based solution must be in a region different from the corporate challenge. 

Interested startups and SMEs can contact the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator for more information, access to additional information on the webpage, or directly join the matching platform. 

After registering on the matching platform, they can access the challenges, connect with the corporates and submit a matching solution.

The EU-LAC Digital Accelerator invites startups to match their value proposition with open challenges, to connect with venture clients, and to develop new business opportunities internationally.

Join the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator

Applications are invited from interested and suitably qualified nationals of the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) Member States, for the position of Procurement Officer.

Full details of this position may be obtained by downloading the job description below.

Applications with full curriculum vitae details including nationality, work experience, educational qualifications, summary of professional skills and or expertise, language proficiency; coordinates (including e-mail addresses) of two (2) referees (at least one of whom must be familiar with the applicant’s work) and other relevant information, should be addressed to:

“Application for Position of Procurement Officer”
The Chief Executive Officer
CARICOM Development Fund
1st Floor East, SKY Mall
Haggatt Hall, St. Michael BB11063
BARBADOS

and sent by email to:
opportunity@caricomdf.org and aparris@caricomdf.org

The deadline for submission of applications is 2nd January 2024.

The   EU-LAC   Digital   Accelerator   is   a  multi-sided  platform  that  connects  business opportunities from corporates to startups and innovative SMEs. Our objective is to support joint ventures (EU-LAC Partnerships) until an investment-ready stage and provide specific acceleration services to each of them.

Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), in collaboration with a consortium of European and Latin American partners, is currently implementing the Programme funded by the European Union, and at this stage are calling corporates and large organisations to identify and submit challenges on ¨Smart Production¨ to unlock the digital potential of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Corporates established in LAC regions, with challenges in the digital sphere, seeking innovative solutions from entrepreneurs and startups can apply to our Call for Challenges on the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator platform.

TO SUBMIT YOUR CHALLENGE PLEASE CLICK HERE!

Deadline for submissions of challenges is November 30^th, 2023

Our team is available to meet with you to discuss how your participation in the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator can result in the digital transformation of your business.

Please contact us at  eu-lacdigitalaccel@carib-export.com

Applications are invited from interested and suitably qualified nationals of Member States of the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) and Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), for the position of Internal Auditor.

Full details of this position may be obtained by dwonloading the Vacancy Notice and the Job Description below.

Applications with full curriculum vitae details including nationality, work experience, educational qualifications, summary of professional skills and or expertise, language proficiency; coordinates (including e-mail addresses) of two (2) referees (at least one of whom must be familiar with the applicant’s work) and other relevant information, should be addressed to:

“Application for the Position of Internal Auditor”
The Chief Executive Officer
CARICOM Development Fund
1st Floor East, SKY Mall
Haggatt Hall, St. Michael BB11063
BARBADOS

and sent by email to: opportunity@caricomdf.org and aparris@caricomdf.org.

The deadline for submission of applications is 30th November 2023.

The Caribbean Export Development Agency, in collaboration with Draper Starter House, Access Accelerator, Small Business Development Centre and Invest Turks and Caicos, will host the highly anticipated Survival of the Pitchest – Caribbean Early Stage Pitch Competition – CIF2023 Edition.

Competition Details

Date & Location:
October 24, 2023, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas

Registration Process:
To participate, kindly:

Submit your pitch deck and a 2-minute video introducing yourself before Tuesday, October 10, 2023.

During each 2-minute pitch and 2-minute question and answer, participants will be evaluated based on:

• Team, market validation & product.
• Business model and founders.
• Ability to tell your story with authenticity and passion

Prize:
USD 20,000 in cash prizes to be won!

Apply Now

Apply Now

For more information, visit Caribbean Investment Forum 2023

Virtual
October 5th, 2023

This expression of interest (EOI) is launched in the framework of Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, a four-year Programme implemented by the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean with the support of the European Union. The overall purpose of the activity is to secure buyers, collectors and other relevant partners within the handicraft sector to attend a one-day B2B/Buyers event.

The Transcultura Programme serves to deepen cultural integration in the Caribbean and to strengthen people-to-people cooperation and exchange within the region and with the European Union.  In particular, the Entrepreneurship and Incubator component aims to strengthen capacities for the development of new cultural projects, self-employment and start-up/scale-up activities. The innovative and entrepreneurial project development supported by the Programme will improve beneficiaries’ access to new knowledge, markets, management models and sources of funding.

In this context, the entrepreneurship incubator: Export development and market opportunities in the handcraft sector is an online incubator initiative which offers innovative framework for export development and increasing market opportunities. Through this initiative, creative and scalable project ideas within the handcraft sub-sector of the Cultural and Creative Industries and in their early stages of generation, will be able to strengthen their export promotion skills, new market entry opportunities and regional network building.

For this activity, Caribbean Export will be hosting a virtual one-day B2B/ Buyer’s event on October 5^th, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. This platform is the perfect opportunity for handicraft buyers, collectors and other relevant stakeholders to connect with and view a variety of products offered by the current cohort of beneficiaries. Through this event the goal is to establish new links and contacts in a purely business environment, thus promoting the creation of synergies across the value chain. In addition, you will be able to learn about new trends in different commercial sectors and expand borders by accessing international markets.

Products exhibited will include:

• Textiles
• Woodworks
• Pottery and Ceramics
• Leathercrafts

Complete Expression of Interest Form

Interested persons must complete the attached Expression of Interest form and submit all required documentation to Caribbean Export. Submissions must be addressed electronically to Dario Carrington at dcarrington@carib-export.com copied to ejeffers@carib-export.com no later than 4:00 p.m. AST on September 25^th, 2023.

Applications will be reviewed by Caribbean Export and the selection committee. Successful participants will be notified no later than September 29^th, 2023.

Please note that submission of this form does not guarantee participation. Only fully completed application forms shall be considered and evaluated for suitability. All applications are subject to approval of acceptance by a Selection Committee and funding availability.

The information provided will be held in strict confidence and will be used to facilitate the review and selection process, arrange relevant B2B meetings and assist in our Monitoring & Evaluation activities.