Completed Projects

Project: Develop an investor roadmap and business guide
Agency: Antigua and Barbuda Ministry of Planning, Trade, Industry, Commerce and Public Service Affairs

Overview

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda requested technical assistance from C-TRADECOM for strategic trade and investment guidance and assistance with the development of a business capacity building effort.

As a result C-TRADECOM retained The Services Group (TSG) to undertake a high-level diagnostic of the Antigua and Barbuda business environment. One of the critical findings of the initial team was the need for an investor roadmap and business guide for Antigua and Barbuda. This was recognized by representatives of the government and the business community and was one of the principal reasons for the initial approach by the government to C-TRADECOM for support.

Developing a "how to" guide

Through the programming of a Business and Investor Roadmap for Antigua and Barbuda, C-TRADECOM has assisted in the development of a comprehensive "how to" business guide while simultaneously identifying bottlenecks, gaps in transparency, and inefficiencies that can be improved.

The Investor Roadmap, which has been completed in some 50 countries worldwide, examines a set of procedures that outline the critical path to entrepreneurs starting up and operating a firm and creates an Action Plan to streamline procedures and eliminate red tape that impose costs on entrepreneurial activity.

In the case of Antigua and Barbuda, both foreign and local investors have been considered in the Roadmap exercise. It is anticipated that the Antigua & Barbuda Roadmap will serve as an example to other countries in the region to conduct similar analyses that can help improve administrative procedures and benchmark performance among Caribbean states.

Investor Roadmap Background information

The past 25 years have witnessed dramatic change in the economic philosophies of many countries, with a broad consensus about the positive role of private sector led growth. Yet while many states have implemented macroeconomic reforms, liberalizing currency regimes and creating the legal framework facilitating investment, in many instances the formal investment response has been disappointing. One major reason for this has been the lack of focus on governance issues, including administrative and procedural barriers to investment, conflicts of law and inadequate regulation, and inefficient structures.

More information on the Investor Roadmap

The Investor Roadmap is at once an analytic tool, a detailed prescriptive document, and catalyst for meaningful change. The Investor Roadmap involves a comprehensive analysis of the general and specialized procedures that constitute public-private regulatory interaction. While some of the administrative and procedural barriers that the Roadmap identifies may seem to be mere nuisances at first glance, taken as a whole they can become overwhelming, thereby deterring and raising the cost of investment and formalization.