Bridgetown, BARBADOS, January 17, 2019. The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), in partnership with the Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion agencies (CAIPA), has set its sights once again on increasing its share of the growing US$140 billion outsourcing industry, with the hosting of the biennial Outsource to the Caribbean Conference (OCC2019) in Curaçao during the period 6-10^th May 2019. The event is expected to attract over 300 business process outsourcing (BPO) industry leaders from the Caribbean, Mexico, Colombia, the USA, the Netherlands and Canada, which are the target markets for the event this year.

The Caribbean is well positioned to leverage its proximity to the United States to become the nearshore location of choice for business process outsourcing (BPO) firms looking to expand beyond call centers into new growth areas, such as shared services centers, legal process outsourcing, human resources outsourcing, and finance and accounting outsourcing, to name a few.

The Caribbean boasts a perfect fit with its highly educated, multi-lingual, services-oriented workforce and the staging of the OCC2019 will increase awareness of the region’s value proposition within the outsourcing sector to generate real interest that can be converted to investments and jobs.

OCC2019 has partnered with the Curaçao Investment Promotion Agency, CINEX and the internationally renowned fDi-Intelligence (an arm of the Financial Times), to build upon the success of the 2017 event which was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica and saw more than 160 industry specific stakeholders from more than 20 countries participating.

OCC2019 will include a 2-day workshop for regional BPO service providers and will also include an EXPO element facilitating greater opportunity for potential investors to meet with regional service providers. A highlight of the event will be hosting of B-2-B meetings between Caribbean BPO stakeholders and specially invited BPO firms from Mexico, Colombia, the USA, the Netherlands and Canada who are keen on doing business in the Caribbean.

“Our 2-day conference will not only provide an opportunity to discuss relevant topics such as ‘Driving business growth through RPA (robotic process automation) and intelligent automation from a Caribbean perspective’, but it will also include an EXPO element which is new for this year” noted Ms. Suzette Hudson, Senior Advisor in Investment Promotion at Caribbean Export. “This event will also provide an opportunity for the Caribbean to discuss the ways we can pull the Caribbean BPO sector together to plan and execute a strategy to enhance the Caribbean’s presence in the global BPO market.”

Investment promotion is a key aspect of Caribbean Export’s work in cooperation with the European Union to support private sector development through the implementation of the 11^th EDF Regional Private Sector Development Programme.

About Caribbean Export

Caribbean Export is a regional export development and trade and investment promotion organisation of the Forum of Caribbean States (CARIFORUM) currently executing the Regional Private Sector Programme (RPSDP) funded by the European Union under the 11^th European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean Export’s mission is to increase the competitiveness of Caribbean countries by providing quality export development and trade and investment promotion services through effective programme execution and strategic alliances.

More information about Caribbean Export can be found at www.carib-export.com. Contact: JoEllen Laryea, PR and Communications, Caribbean Export Development Agency, Tel: +1(246) 436-0578, Fax: +1(246) 436-9999, Email: [email protected]

About CAIPA

The Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (CAIPA) is an umbrella organization of investment promotion agencies in CARIFORUM as well as Curacao, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Association is dedicated to the strengthening of its members and the promotion of the region as an ideal location for investment. Caribbean Export serves as the Secretariat for CAIPA. For further information on CAIPA, please contact Ms. Suzette Hudson at [email protected] or visit the CAIPA website at www.caipainvest.org