Compete Caribbean

1.1 COMPETE CARIBBEAN is a private sector development program jointly funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the United Kingdom Department of International Development (DFID) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to provide technical assistance grants and investment funding to support productive development policies, business climate reforms, clustering initiatives and Small and Medium Size Enterprise (SME) development activities in the Caribbean region. 1.2 The ultimate goal of this Program is to contribute to the increase in the standard of living and quality of life, and the enhancement of the competitiveness of the 15 independent CARIFORUM countries.

1.3 The objective of the Program is to help increase: (i) donor harmonization and coherence, equity and sustainability of national and regional private sector strategies; (ii) the efficiency and effectiveness of Caribbean governments to promote a competitive, growth-oriented business and investment climate; and (iii) innovation, productivity, value added production, sales and sustainability in key Caribbean clusters and value chains, and product sophistication, productivity and exports of individual firms. 1.4 The Program has three pillars: (i) Comprehensive Framework for Private Sector Development; (ii) Business Climate and Competitiveness Enhancement Facility; and (iii) Enterprise Innovation Challenge Fund. 1.5 Pillar 1 - Comprehensive Framework for Private Sector Development and Knowledge Management: The objectives of this component are to: (a) increase regional and national consensus and focus on strategic and priority interventions promoting private sector development; (b) increase the synergies among donor-supported PSD projects; and (c) strengthen knowledge management to ensure the transmission of PSD best practices, evaluation of interventions’ impact, and knowledge exchange with national and regional stakeholders 1.6 Pillar 2 - Business Climate and Competitiveness Enhancement Facility (BCCE): The objectives of this component are to: (a) implement productive development policies and business climate reforms; and (b) foster public-private dialogue and strengthen competitiveness councils and their Technical Units (TU). 1.7 Pillar 3 - Enterprise Innovation Challenge Fund (EICF): The objectives of this component are to: (a) enhance the development of the productive sector, by supporting clusters and value chains to compete in regional and global markets; and (b) increase the generation of employment and income by strengthening Caribbean businesses with resources to finance innovative ventures, develop new products, implement new business models, and enter new markets. 1.8 The implementation of the Program will be managed by the IDB, with operational responsibilities delegated to a Program Coordination Unit (PCU) to be established in the Bank’s country office (COF) in Barbados. Implementation in the OECS countries will be in close collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). 1.9 For more information on the program, please visit www.competecaribbean.org