Gopee-Scoon: PAERC promotes Pan-African development

Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon is in full support of the Pan-African Enterprise Research Council's (PAERC) economic participation and development for people across the African diaspora.

She commended PAREC at the fifth international conference at the lounge of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine on Thursday.

Referencing the theme for this year’s conference was Transition and Trajectories in Pan-African Development, she said the future of Pan-African Development holds immense potential for fostering unity, empowerment and progress among people of African descent worldwide.

“It is conferences such as these that play an important role in building the entrepreneurial eco-system by providing critical research and a platform for dialogue, which is crucial for effective policy making, thereby nourishing the symbiotic relationship between government and academia,” she said in a release.

Gopee-Scoon also noted the economic potential for Caricom through deeper integration with the African continent and the creation of new pathways for increased trade and investment between the two regions.

“According to the International Trade Centre (ITC), in its publication Expanding African-Caribbean Trade, there is an estimated US$1 billion in export potential in sectors ranging from agri-food and healthcare to tourism, fertilizers and automobiles,” she said.

Gopee-Scoon added, “Notwithstanding, the ITC indicated that addressing trade barriers and channelling investments into sectors with growth potential, Africa could increase its merchandise exports to the Caribbean by US$171 million by 2026 or 54 per cent by 2026. The Caribbean, in turn, could boost its goods exports to Africa by US$80 million, or 29 per cent.”

The PAERC was also encouraged by the Trade and Industry Minister to continue its advocacy of entrepreneurship among the African diaspora and in securing the equitable participation of the diaspora in the realm of enterprise.

Also in attendance were Dr Carla Natalie Barnett secretary general of Caricom, Dr Ralph Henry PAERC’s chairman, Dr Acolla Lewis-Cameron dean of the faculty of social sciences at UWI St Augustine, professor Lou Anne Barclay of UWI-Mona Campus, Jamaica and Mr Aldwyn Wayne founder and CEO of WiPay and Colour Bank.