Senator Chad Blackman wants Barbados to tap into orange economy

Senator Chad Blackman, the Minister of Economic Affairs for Barbados, shared his opinion on the implementation of the orange economy in the nation. The minister shared his words during his appearance at the second Sectoral Consultation of the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries.

The meeting for economic discussion was organised at the venue of Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management in Wanstead, Barbados. The school comes under the University of the West Indies and is situated at Cave Hill Campus.

The gathering was focused on the topic of the orange economy and the development of the business aspects in the island nation of Barbados through this means. The event was attended by major stakeholders in the sector other than government officials.

The Economic Affairs Minister talked about the necessity of the orange economy and its impact on the economic growth of the nation. He stated that how it is also a positive approach to sustaining cultural identity.

The orange economy is also called the creative economy. This form of economy focuses on creative and artistic works, separate from other economic terms. Under this structure, culturally backed local artworks and handmade products get access to the market, which contributes to economic growth.

Chad Blackman mentioned the economic practices traditionally used in Barbados, like tourism and did well. With that, he expressed that now is the time to take major steps toward the orange economy as it contains significant potential to drive the economic structure.

While sharing his vision at the gathering, Senator Chad Blackman talked about creating a new sector in Barbados, which he backed with international statistics. He highlighted that last year’s data by the United Nations disclosed the account of 985 billion US dollars globally with the orange economy.

Chad Blackman said, “The question becomes, How can Barbados plug into that? When there is a global sector of which we are a part, and we have specialisation and expertise in a number of areas. How can we tap into it so that revenue can also come into Barbados?”

Blackman continued, “We are creating our content here and contributing to that figure. But equally, I also want to use this as a challenge, that our creative sector can also place itself in a way that it can tap into the global market of the orange economy so that Barbados will also have significant inward flows.”

Senator Chad Blackman also asked the representatives of the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries to conduct studies and gather data on the potential of the orange economy in Barbados. The collected data will help to understand the ground level of the sector in the island nation.

He also suggested Amanda Reifer, the President of the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries, who was also present at the discussion to organise some formal meetings. He meeting he asked to set up with the credit union movement to explore more entrepreneurial opportunities.

Chad Blackman said, “I would recommend to you strongly that you also seek to have meetings with the banking association of the country so that there can be some sort of vehicle, as it were, that can allow for the creative sector to have a special fund that would allow for the sector to access.”

Senator continued, “In so doing, you’ll be able to now build out in the areas that you want, but with the idea not just of having access to funds to start another business. What is this business, or series of businesses, intending to do?”

He also stated, “I am of the strong view that it has to be driven first of all by a sense of national identity, Brand Barbados. When you look at the countries that have significant orange economies, as they were, whether you look at the US, Jamaica, or Nigeria, it is driven and anchored by a strong national identity.”

Chad Blackman added in the end, “They are proud of the way they walk, the talk, the music, your food, your fashion. And that sense of identity then drives and translates into creativity, matched, of course, by technology.”

The gathering covered all the points related to the orange economy and creative market in Barbados. The discussion contained several presentations based on data and economic potential in the public and private sectors.