On Tuesday 25^th November, 2025, our Executive Director, Dr. Damie Sinanan, participated as an invited contributor at the high-level roundtable “Investment for Resilience: Building Pathways for Commonwealth Nations,” hosted by the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Convened at Merchant Taylor’s Hall in London, the roundtable brought together senior government leaders, investors, development finance practitioners, and private-sector representatives to examine the persistent financing barriers faced by Commonwealth countries, particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS), in mobilising investment for sustainable infrastructure and climate-resilient growth.

Championing Scalable, Bankable and De-Risked Investments for the Caribbean

During the discussion, Dr. Sinanan emphasised the urgent need to scale investment-ready projects across the region, highlighting that small project size and fragmented project pipelines continue to limit the ability of Caribbean nations to attract significant cross-border capital flows.

He underscored three priority areas for advancing investment resilience:

1. Encouraging scale through cross-border collaboration:
   Dr. Sinanan called for deeper regional cooperation to pool resources, standardise project frameworks, and develop multi-country investment opportunities capable of meeting investor thresholds.
2. Building capacity for bankable project development:
   He noted that many viable concepts struggle to reach the bankable stage due to gaps in early-stage project preparation, feasibility studies, and technical capability. Strengthening this pipeline is essential to unlocking private finance and mobilising blended finance instruments.
3. De-risking investments amid climate and economic shocks:
   With SIDS facing increasing climate-related disruptions and high cost of capital, Dr. Sinanan advocated for more robust risk-mitigation mechanisms to lower barriers for investors. This includes insurance innovations, political-risk coverage, and climate-resilience financing tools tailored to vulnerable economies.

Caribbean Export’s Role in Advancing Regional Investment Resilience

Caribbean Export remains committed to deepening partnerships that enhance the region’s ability to secure sustainable, long-term investment, particularly in infrastructure, green transition, digital transformation, and climate-resilient development.

As part of this commitment, the Agency continues to champion the Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) – the region’s premier platform for high-impact investment matchmaking and partnership-building. The upcoming CIF 2026, to be hosted in Barbados, will serve as a strategic opportunity to present a robust pipeline of regional projects, convene global investors, and catalyse cross-border collaboration aligned with the Commonwealth’s vision for resilient and sustainable growth. CIF 2026 will further reinforce the Caribbean’s readiness to mobilise capital at scale and accelerate transformative investments.

“For the Caribbean to attract the scale of financing needed for transformation, we must build stronger project pipelines, enhance our technical readiness, and strategically de-risk investments,” Dr. Sinanan remarked. “Our participation in this dialogue reinforces Caribbean Export’s commitment to championing regional investment opportunities and advancing prosperity across the Commonwealth.”

Aligning with the Commonwealth’s Investment Vision

The roundtable forms part of the wider operationalisation of the Commonwealth Investment Network (CIN), which aims to strengthen investment ecosystems, enhance capacity-building, and bridge the public–private divide across the Commonwealth.
Participants examined practical responses to the systemic constraints outlined in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2024 Communiqué, including limited fiscal space, high borrowing costs, complex regulatory environments, and challenges in leveraging blended finance.

Discussions also looked ahead to CHOGM 2026, which will be hosted by Antigua and Barbuda under the theme “Accelerating Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth.”