Publication: Investing Back Home: The Potential Economic Role of the Caribbean Diaspora
Date
2016-04-01
ISSN
Published
2016-04-01
Author(s)
World Bank Group
Abstract
This study was initiated as a result of
interest expressed by Caribbean Governors attending the 2014
World Bank–International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings to
tap into the regional Diaspora investor community to fund
investment needs across the region. The overall development
objective of the study is to formulate options that can help
mobilize Diaspora capital in the form of private investment
in productive investable assets, including start-ups and
other business enterprises, social infrastructure (e.g.,
schools, hospitals), physical infrastructure (e.g., energy,
transport, water), and public market (i.e., liquid)
investments. Diaspora-sourced investment flow into these
types of productive assets can ultimately serve to spur
economic growth and job creation, which is a clear
imperative in this region. The survey also builds on the
promising conclusions of the 2013 Information for
Development Program (infoDev) survey, which identified the
potential demand for such investments within the global
Caribbean Diaspora. This document encompasses a broad survey
of 14 countries in the Caribbean as well as an in-depth
analysis of four countries in particular Barbados, Jamaica,
St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. The framework for this
prefeasibility assessment comprised four areas of analysis,
focused on (1) sizing the Diaspora population and its
investment potential and interest; (2) conducting market
research on the investment landscape, including investable
assets and market drivers and impediments; (3) analyzing the
legal and regulatory framework for investments in the
Caribbean; and (4) identifying distribution channels and
convening platforms that can offer, host, or advocate for a
potential Caribbean regional Diaspora initiative. To
conclude, to pursue targeted Diaspora-focused initiatives,
more resources need to be committed to conducting robust
Diaspora sizing and mapping exercises in select countries so
as to segregate the Diaspora by generation, income, and net
worth to better understand affinity and investment capacity
as any menu of initiatives designed to mobilize Diaspora
investment will need to be segregated to target specific
groups of the Diaspora by investment capacity and preference.
Citation
“World Bank Group. 2016. Investing Back Home; Investing Back Home : The Potential Economic Role of the Caribbean Diaspora. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/24403 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”