Centre for the Development of Enterprise

Current Activities in the Caribbean

2010 - 2011

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The CDE• A joint ACP -EU institution under Cotonou Agreement (since 1977)

• A dedicated private sector development (PSD) agency for ACP

• Funding comes (mainly) from the European Development Fund (EDF).

• The CDE provides non-financial services to support enterprises, intermediary organizations (IOs) and private service providers

• CDE is also the executing agency for other PSD programmes and facilities

CDE - the institution 2

Structure and Networks

•CDE is headquartered in Brussels;

•There are currently 4 regional offices and 2 in

development

•The office for the Caribbean – responsible for the

operations in 15 CARIFORUM states is located in Santo

Domingo

•Over the years, CDE has built an EU network of over

140 organizations including technical centres

•Each region also has a regional, operational network of

technical intervention offices in the countries where CDE

does not have presence

•CDE also has an important network of expert

consultants

CDE - the institution 3

CDE’s Business Model CDE’s strategy / “business model” comprises the following main

components: main target of assistance at enterprise level, and related intermediaries

priority for SME range with innovation potentials (advanced technologies

market expansion, demonstration/emulation effects, linkage with EU partners)

pro-active structured programmes (for sector potentials with clusters and value-chains)

demand-driven ad-hoc assistance to be channeled under transversal facilities

comprehensive provision of business development services (BDS) with a subsidy component: i.e. more than administration of a grant budget

advisory capacity and active support for innovation, interface function in the EU, linkage to expertise and markets, institutional relations and knowledge resources

active combination of technical assistance (BDS) with investment finance from dedicated DFIs, like EIB, EDFI group and local/regional ACP FIs, to facilitate SMEs access to long-term financing

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SME Challenges in the Caribbean

• Global trade regulations and free trade areas, regional integration and partnership agreements such as the CSME and CARIFORUM-EU EPA , all mean a larger market space on the one hand but also competition and new standards for SMEs in their own traditional markets on the other hand.

Preparation • Preparation for opportunities may require major improvements in several

aspects of SME operations from:

– Raw materials that meet new standards

– Plant and process re design – often inefficient as a result of incremental investments over time

– Plant and process re design to support international standards, for example, food safety standards

– Productivity enhancement for improved cost/ efficiency

– Technology for enhancement of products

– New product development, product standards and innovation

– Re-training of staff

– Market Expansion and new market access strategies, for example niche markets

– Building management capacity

Priority SME Sectors in the Caribbean

• Agro- Industry

– Support to Value Added Agri-businesses and Agro-Processing enterprises

• Services

– Infrastructure and Energy Based industries - Engineering and Maintenance services by SMEs

– Tourism – Competitiveness enhancement in Tourism services

– Marine Trade and Transport industries – competitiveness enhancement of SMEs service providers

– SME Investment Support - (diagnostics and technical services in support of Investment through Financial Institutions partners)

• Energy Management in SMEs

• ICT - Support to Professional service providers

• Forest and wood sector - Supporting sustainable forest management and timber processing by SMEs

Agro-Industry• Objectives

– Mechanization and the introduction of technology to agriculture.

– New product development and development of niche, high end markets, such as organic foods and areas where the Caribbean can be competitive (high quality cocoa, coffee) among others.

– Support for food safety, quality, environmental standards and certification.

• Examples:

– Cocoa Industry: project for 7 Caribbean countries addressing market access, quality

management, value added products, mechanization of cocoa

– Coffee: in Jamaica; assisting a coffee company with market access

– Dairy: in DR; a pilot programmes with 9 companies to address “Good Manufacturing Practices;”

standards. This would be extended to the entire SME dairy processing sector

– Agro –industry exporters : assisting with quality and food safety certification of 18 enterprises

in the DR

– Vegetable and fruit: assisting a company in Guyana with food safety standards

– Seafood and fisheries: In the pass in Guyana, Suriname and Belize , we have assisted in

addressing HACCP certification for seafood and fisheries companies and the competent

authorities 8

Engineering and Maintenance By SMEs in Infrastructure and Mining

• Objectives– Building capacity of SMEs in construction, road maintenance, mining– To encourage more local content, linkages with the local economy and

other sectors;– Support for the Introduction of Environmental Management

• Examples– In Haiti, we will start a project to build the capacity of SME contractors

involved in road maintenance. The focus is on project management and general management skills;

– in Trinidad and Tobago - Through the Energy Chamber, we are supporting a programme for SME service providers operating in the Oil and Gas sectors– at least 20 companies, to develop a competency framework and standard for 63 jobs in the industry. These standards would be used by the international oil and gas companies when tendering and recruiting service providers.

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Supporting Optimal Energy Management

• Objectives– Contribute to overall competitiveness and environmental performance of

ACP industries by optimizing their energy consumption and assisting the development of cost effective renewable energy sources.

• Examples

– CDE is participating in a CHTA/ IADB initiative “The Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency Action Programme (CHENACT) project” to assess energy consumption patterns of Caribbean hotels and define options for reducing energy consumption, thereby effecting cost savings and improving competitive potential.

– CDE is also currently considering support for a new renewable energy service provider.

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Building Capacity in ICT

• Objectives– Capacity building of ICT service providers and support for market access in the higher

end products and services.

• Examples– CDE will partner with GOINVEST in Guyana to support the Business Processing

Outsourcing / Call Centre industry with market expansion efforts particularly in the EU.– CDE is also working with AHTIC in Haiti on its E-TECH and other initiatives to promote

the industry to investors.– Major portal initiatives– with significant outreach, critical for regional integration are

being supported.– CDE is also open to new requests from other regional ICT service provider groups –

particular for innovative software and open source applications.– In partnership with PROINVEST, CDE expects a major initiative to prepare the

infrastructure to support capacity building and strengthening of associations around the region to begin in 2010.

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Competitiveness in Tourism• Proposed Objectives

– Upgrading and improving the overall product offering and standards of the hotel sector;

– Assistance in repositioning and developing niche, higher end markets.

• Examples

– IMS programmes- CDE is assisting two groups of small hotels in Jamaica (5 hotels) and in Trinidad (7 hotels) with the implementation of Integrated Management Systems addressing Food Safety and Sanitation as well as Environmental Standards to HACCP or ISO 22000 standards and Green Globe respectively;

– Reposition and market access – a programme to assist SME hotels in upgrading and repositioning is being considered which would involve an assessment of physical and other improvements required to serve targeted markets and to improve market access.

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Marine Trade and Maritime Transport Industries

• Objectives– Support for projects promoting specialized marine trade and maritime transport

services by SMEs

– Development and introduction of environmental standards

– Market expansion.

• Examples of projects in development– Antigua and Barbuda - Support for the design and implementation of a pilot

Apprenticeship programme - 10 -15 companies

– The Bahamas – Support to conduct a Strategic diagnostic study of the sector and identify needs for improving competitiveness - 10 -15 companies

– Grenada– Product and service assessment aimed at improving competitiveness and market access support.

– Regional – Small Trading Vessel industry support – diagnostic to assess demand and service gaps (logistics); physical conditions and standards of vessels and HR training and certification needs. Regional project with an 12-15 vessels ( companies)

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Forestry, Wood and Furniture

• Objectives– Development of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), downstream processing

(DP) and export of value added products.

• Example

– CDE Timber Drying and Kiln Operations course in Guyana and Suriname. The objective is to improve the skills and know-how of operators of drying kilns in order to reduce wastage in the drying process; save energy and produce properly dried and better quality lumber for manufacturing.

– Supported by CDE with a consortium of 4 Spanish technical centres specialized in wood and furniture. Phase I involved a diagnostic review and strategic plan to develop the competitiveness of the sector and some training and technical assistance and phase will involve: training and technical assistance in for example Supply management, Production systems, Furniture design, Finishing and glues, Computer assisted design, Marketing and Costing.

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SME Investment Support Programme

• Objectives– CDE works in partnership with selected

regional financial institutions with a dedicated focus on SMEs to improve the SME investment process and facilitate and expand SME Investment through Pre and Post Investment technical assistance managed by the financial institutions on behalf of CDE

– CDE also has a tool / software for training consultants and BDS providers to do comprehensive SME diagnostics

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