Castries, May 10th, 2017; The Department of Commerce, International Trade, Investment, Enterprise Development and Consumer Affairs, with the assistance of the Organization of American States (OAS) and Duke University - Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness (CGGC) will be coordinating a four day workshop on "Global Value Chain Industrial Policies: Enhancing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Competitiveness in the Caribbean." This workshop is designed to support the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) model, an initiative which began in 2013.

The objective of the workshop is to provide participants with insights into how to develop effective policies to increase Caribbean countries' competitiveness in these value chains at the local, regional and global levels. The workshop incorporates tools to assess different opportunities for Caribbean firms and clusters by providing a framework through which these chains can be analysed. Using a combination of international trade data and industry-level information, participants will learn how to "map global value chains", that is, identify the main segments of these value chains and the most powerful and influential firms in each industry, and how these different segments are geographically dispersed around the world.

In addition, by examining the role that leading firms and countries play, participants will learn the key requirements for competitiveness at firm and country levels, as well as, potential opportunities and constraints to innovate and upgrade into higher value segments of value chains. Upon completion of the workshop, participants can use these tools to articulate policies and actions that can be implemented to drive and support investments in specific industries and to support local firms to interact gainfully in today's global economy.

The workshop will be facilitated by Mr. Gary Gereffi, noted Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center on Globalization, Governance, & Competitiveness (CGGC) at Duke University. He will be joined by Mrs. Karina Fernandez-Stark, Senior Research Analyst at the Duke University (CGGC). The facilitators bring a wealth of information and expertise in the area of Global Value Chain Analysis and Industrial Policies having done extensive work within the Latin American and Caribbean region and across the world.

This workshop will be held at the Coco Palm Hotel in Rodney Bay, Gros Islet between     9:00a.m. and 4:00p.m. from May 16th - 19th, 2017. A brief opening ceremony will be held from 8:30a.m. on May 16, 2017.

This workshop falls within the mandate of the Department of Commerce to enhance global competitiveness of Saint Lucian businesses. In this regard, the Department is also grateful for the continued support of the OAS in developing our Small Business Development Centre Model and look forward to this interaction with industry experts from Duke University as we seek to analyse and strengthen our local industries through strategic policy formulation and implementation.

For further information on this activity please contact Mrs. Ruthanne Phillip, Business Development Officer at 468-4247 or Mrs. Junia Emmanuel-Belizaire, Commerce and Industry Officer at 468-4213.

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