CARAIA held its inaugural member-only, private capital half-yearly review session on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, with a focus on private capital in the Caribbean.
Drawing on a recently commissioned study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) the main presenter, Hadyn Gittens, a seasoned financial consultant gave an overview of the private financing ecosystem and the requirements for its continued development. He also discussed the composition of the market in terms of capitalization and number of firms across the region, legislative and regulatory status for a selection of countries in the region, industries targeted and the firms that are actively involved in private financing in the Caribbean.
The session was moderated by Audrey Richards, Financial Consultant of the Development Bank of Jamaica and Chair of the Training, Capacity Building, Research and Reporting Sub-Committee of CARAIA. Audrey joined Hadyn in an insightful fireside chat segment during the session. Critical matters such as similarities of regulations and the legislative frameworks in the region were at the center of the discussions. The role of institutional investors and their leadership in promoting education in the area of private financing, especially for regulators, was also covered. Small and medium-sized enterprises are receiving increased attention but there is significant room for their growth in order to sufficiently absorb the capital being made available. These and other topics such as sustainable financing and increased activities in mezzanine financing were also discussed.
The members of CARAIA will continue to meet to review varying aspects of the alternative investment industry with the next session scheduled for January 2024. This is in line with the association’s objective of increasing market information for members and associates. CARAIA kicked off a perception survey in July 2023 to gather insights from senior executives within our member organizations regarding the state of the Caribbean alternatives market for the first half of 2023. This research will continue every six (6) months to strengthen market intelligence and to identify any potential challenges that are causing concern.
Established in 2019, through the DBJ’s private capital activities, under the Jamaica Venture Capital Programme, CARAIA is a registered non-profit organization with membership comprising 27 prestigious corporate and institutional organizations based in Jamaica, Bahamas, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Barbados, the USA and Germany.
Through CARAIA, the private sector now assumes leadership of the development of the private capital ecosystem in Jamaica and the region. It is governed by a Board of Directors representing industry leaders who have made their mark in private equity, venture capital, real estate, private credit, mezzanine financing and other types of alternative investments in the Caribbean.
For general queries, please email us at administration@caraia.org