Events > LATAC Opportunities Brochure

Latin America & the Caribbean

Opportunities for UK companies

Barbados & the Eastern Caribbean

Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean are ideal markets for UK firms to pursue business. Primarily because these countries enjoy a summer climate year-round, have excellent connections to major airports in the UK and possess business systems, governance and legal systems that are similar or based on the UK model.

Market Detail

Barbados is the premier business destination in the English Caribbean with strong historical links to the UK. UK citizens visit Barbados each year with the UK remaining a top trading partner exporting £366 million worth of UK goods and services to Barbados in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2020[1].  

Barbados and the wider Eastern Caribbean (Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Vincent) markets are unique as they are rich with commercial opportunities in the Aid-Funded Business (AFB) sector with over £2.5 billion in export opportunities as a result of investments from donor institutions like the EU Aid, Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, Green Climate Fund and more[2].

UK businesses exporting to Barbados will find:

  • English is the main spoken language
  • An UK oriented culture and business practices
  • Similar legal and political systems
  • Excellent connectivity to the UK and European markets (direct flights from London, Frankfurt)
  • Preferential access granted through the UK-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership agreement.
  • UK Double Taxation Agreement and Bilateral Investment Treaty.
  • Barbados ranked 3rd least corrupt market in Latin America and the Caribbean by Global Corruption Index[3].
  • Ranked 4th of all LATAC countries in the Global Rule of Law Index[4]. 
  • Well-established property rights.
  • Highly educated workforce with 99.6% literacy rate[5].
  • Ranked 34th globally in the Global ICT Index[6], which assesses ICT infrastructure. 

Opportunities for UK companies include: 

  • Aid-Funded Business
  • Clean Growth
  • Food and Drink
  • Industrial Goods
  • ICT
  • Education

[1] DIT Trade and Investment Factsheets [LINK], ONS UK Total Trade [LINK]

[2] MULTIPLE SOURCES THAT BUILD FROM EACH OTHER TO GET TO £2.5 BILLION FIGURE AND DISCLOSE INSTITUTIONS AND DONORS:

Inter-American Development Bank, list of projects in Barbados: [LINK]

Green Climate Fund, number of projects and Total GCF financing in Barbados: [LINK]

Green Climate Fund, number of projects and Total GCF financing in Grenada: [LINK]

Green Climate Fund, number of projects and Total GCF financing in Antigua: [LINK]

WorldBank, RECENTLY APPROVED PROJECTS, containing approved projects for Caribbean: [LINK]

WorldBank, World Bank Approves US$25 Million Credit for Grenada’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery, 17/12/2020: [LINK]

World Bank, World Bank Approves US$30 Million Credit for Saint Lucia’s COVID-19 Response, Recovery, and Resilience, 14/1/2021: [LINK]

[3] Transparency International, 2020, [LINK]

[4] World Justice Project, Rule of law index, 2020: [LINK]

[5] Unesco Country Page [LINK]:

[6] ICT, Measuring Digital Development Facts and Figures, 2020: [LINK]