06th
March 2010
Professor
Compton Bourne urges better collaboration between
Caricom Governments and the private sector
 The
University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus
Saint Lucia in conjunction with the Doctorate
of Business Administration (DBA) cohort two
(2) of the Cave Hill School of Business (CHSB)
hosted a half day seminar on the topic, “Entrepreneurship
and Growth” on Saturday 27th February
2010. Professor Compton Bourne, President of
the Caribbean Development Bank, served as Facilitator.
Professor Compton Bourne’s experience
in Business welded with his accomplishments
as an academic undoubtedly brought significant
value to the topic which is of relevance to
the current global economic recession.
Those who attended the seminar got a glimpse
into understanding today’s economic trends
and the importance of niche marketing. Professor
Bourne noted that:
• No more protection of markets. Business
people have to face the competition.
• Innovative Entrepreneurship is a scarce
commodity and it is necessary to structure a
system of incentives and rewards. Sometimes,
it is necessary for governments to set the pace
but it is for businessmen to innovate and create
new markets.
• Economic Agencies should be flexible
and change in accordance with the needs of the
time.
• Procrastination shrinks margin of profit
– such as delay on the wharf, etc.
• Decision makers must be quick to spot
a difficulty that needs to be addressed and
take decisive action.
• It is necessary to create a framework
in which the business community plays a larger
role in shaping policy and giving urgency to
policy.
• The Diaspora can be an important element
in growth of trade in Food Products.
The Question and Answer period was very lively
and it was generally agreed that there are many
initiatives that can be taken to reverse the
negative economic trend. New activities will
have to be found to generate sustainable income.
Areas such as Knowledge Transfer, Solar Heating,
Sports Tourism, etc. - simply finding the right
niches should be pursued.
Listening to Professor Bourne was a re awakening
to the many calls I made in the past to get
government to be the driver in areas that only
political direction can yield the desired results.
Sometimes, government has to set the pace, it
is their call. There are initiatives for the
government to undertake and there are initiatives
for the private sector to undertake. Sometimes
achieving a specific goal will take collaboration
to yield the best results.
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