The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) joined regional and international partners at the African Caribbean Sustainability & Investment Summit (ACSIS 2025), held from November 21–22, 2025, at Queen’s Gate House in London, UK. The two-day summit, themed “Empowering Futures: Uniting Africa and the Caribbean through Sustainable Innovation and Inclusive Growth,” brought together policymakers, business leaders, investors, and innovators from both regions to advance trade, technology, and investment collaboration.

Representing Caribbean Export, Dr. Damie Sinanan, Executive Director, delivered a keynote address titled “Tech-Driven Transformation: Bridging Africa and the Caribbean Through Innovation and Investment” on the opening day of the Summit. In his remarks, Dr. Sinanan underscored the shared economic challenges and opportunities facing developing regions and highlighted digital transformation as a pivotal tool to drive resilience, competitiveness, and sustainable growth across Africa and the Caribbean.

“Africa and the Caribbean have all the ingredients to redefine the global narrative for developing regions — not as passive participants, but as dynamic co-creators of a new digital frontier,” Dr. Sinanan stated. “Our shared history gives us connection, but it is our shared innovation that must give us momentum.”

During his address, Dr. Sinanan showcased Caribbean Export’s 2025–2028 Strategic Plan, which focuses on improving MSME competitiveness, expanding market access, and promoting regional integration and investment.

He emphasized the agency’s six active economic development programmes valued at USD 20 million, which have already supported nearly 1,000 business professionals in 2024 alone.

Dr. Sinanan also presented the Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) as a key vehicle to strengthen Africa-Caribbean trade and investment ties. He highlighted CIF’s evolution into the Caribbean’s premier investment platform — with over 2,000 delegates from 50 countries and USD 350 million in showcased projects — and invited partners to participate in the 2026 edition to be held in Barbados.

Among the transformative areas of cooperation identified were FinTech, digital entrepreneurship, logistics innovation, green energy, and smart agriculture. Dr. Sinanan cited success stories such as Ghana’s ZeePay expansion into Barbados and the Caribbean’s WiPay operations in Ghana as examples of mutually beneficial digital collaboration.

ACSIS 2025, sponsored by Afreximbank and held in partnership with the African Union, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and Caribbean Export, served as a dynamic platform for connecting investors with high-potential projects in both regions.

The Summit reinforced the growing momentum for Africa-Caribbean partnerships that advance inclusive economic development through sustainable innovation.