Caribbean Development Bank and International Trade Centre Launch New Partnership to Empower Women Entrepreneurs
Partnership to Strengthen Women Entrepreneurs’ Access to North American Market
The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has entered into a joint initiative with the International Trade Centre (ITC) to launch a new partnership to strengthen women entrepreneurs’ access to the North American market in the region.
Deepening Relationship with Caribshopper
The CDB is deepening its relationship with Caribshopper, an e-commerce platform designed to connect Caribbean businesses with global consumers, by onboarding SheTrades Hub members in the bank’s 19 borrowing member countries to sell their products via the digital marketplace.
About Caribshopper
The Caribshopper platform connects regional businesses to consumers in the United States and Canada through its logistical hubs in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Tobago. It currently features close to 10,000 Caribbean-made products from over 650 brands.
About SheTrades Caribbean Hub
The SheTrades Caribbean Hub is CDB’s flagship resource center for women-led businesses to access new markets, mentorship, networking, and capacity building. Through this new partnership, Caribbean women entrepreneurs who are members of the Hub will enter an established and reputed virtual space to conduct business and receive logistics and in-market compliance support.
Benefits of the Partnership
"The bank continues to explore innovative ways to build resilience and grow the private sector. The SheTrades Caribbean Hub is a major vehicle by which we are advancing the interest of women-led businesses and Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)," said the CDB’s acting director of projects, L. O’Reilly Lewis.
He said that admittance to the Caribshopper platform will undoubtedly increase the market access opportunities available to SheTrades Caribbean Hub members. The partnership will also assist with delivering the Hub’s capacity-building mandate while increasing trade and exports from Caribbean women-led MSMEs to larger markets.
Conclusion
The partnership between the CDB and ITC will provide a powerful and empowering opportunity for women entrepreneurs to reach otherwise untapped markets and navigate persisting logistical and financial constraints. With this partnership, Caribbean women-led businesses will have access to a global market, enabling them to grow and thrive.
FAQs
- What is the purpose of the partnership?
The partnership aims to strengthen women entrepreneurs’ access to the North American market in the region. - What is Caribshopper?
Caribshopper is an e-commerce platform designed to connect Caribbean businesses with global consumers. - What is the SheTrades Caribbean Hub?
The SheTrades Caribbean Hub is CDB’s flagship resource center for women-led businesses to access new markets, mentorship, networking, and capacity building. - When will the partnership officially launch?
The partnership will officially launch during a virtual event on Tuesday, February 4.