CAIPA Digital Investment Webinar: Executive Summary Held on November 26, 2025

The CAIPA Digital Investment Webinar, held on November 26, 2025, convened over 100 Caribbean investment promotion officials and global experts to address the region’s top priority: attracting investment into the digital economy. The event was co-hosted with UNCTAD and assembled more than 100 global experts and regional practitioners to equip Caribbean investment promotion agencies (IPAs) with evidence-based strategies for promoting digital sector growth. Opening remarks by CAIPA President (Acting) Kaye-Ann Greenidge underscored digital investment as central to regional resilience and competitiveness.

UNCTAD’s Maha El Masri highlighted that while digital FDI is expanding, 80% of greenfield projects flow to just 10 developing countries, mainly in Asia, leaving most small states behind. She noted a severe ICT financing gap (USD 15 billion invested annually versus USD 62 billion required) and weak data governance, competition, and IP frameworks, with fewer than half of developing countries linking digital strategies to FDI and only 20% explicitly engaging IPAs. UNCTAD committed to a Digital Economy Investment Policy Review and a no cost toolkit tailored to small island developing states.
A best-practices panel showed how leading IPAs are operationalizing digital tools. Estonia’s agency uses “human in the loop” AI, chatbots, and an electronic investment adviser on top of fully digital government services, creating a strong signal to tech investors. Costa Rica’s CINDE demonstrated the power of a customized CRM tracking long term data and a $50,000 annual investment in SEO, LinkedIn tools, paid media, and outreach platforms, all supported by dedicated staff to convert leads.

Regional innovators illustrated how digitalization strengthens core Caribbean sectors. Examples included Curaçao’s Smart City as a continuous transformation “test bed,” AI-enabled BPO models that rely on upgraded skills, and resort-based hydroponics showcasing agritech for sustainability and cost savings. Presenters emphasized the importance of standardized digital business rules like e-signatures, KYC, and remote incorporation. The discussion stressed that digital infrastructure now underpins tourism, finance, agriculture, health, and the creative industries, but growth is constrained by limited capital, skills gaps, and regulatory uncertainty.

Polls revealed key IPA barriers: funding shortages (cited by 82% of members), inadequate staff digital skills, weak ICT infrastructure, and poor access to data and analytics, compounded by limited tools and organizational resistance to data driven practice. In closing, Paul Wessendorp urged countries to focus on three enablers: skills, infrastructure, and modern regulation. These should be backed by credible “signal” projects and realistic messaging, with IPAs positioned as facilitators who solve ecosystem bottlenecks, not just promoters of projects.

Four key takeaways from the webinar are:

• Digital is now core economic infrastructure, so Caribbean digital strategies, FDI promotion, and regulatory reform must be aligned rather than managed in silos.
• High-performing IPAs rely on strong data systems and carefully selected AI/digital tools, supported by dedicated staff and disciplined execution.
• Digitalization upgrades traditional Caribbean strengths in tourism, services, and agriculture but is slowed by funding shortages, skills gaps, weak ICT infrastructure, and outdated or fragmented regulations.
• IPAs create the most value when they act as ecosystem facilitators, resolving regulatory and infrastructure bottlenecks, while ensuring promotional messages accurately reflect real country capabilities.
• A strong, integrated focus on the digital space is essential for CAIPA members because it underpins and amplifies IPAs’ investment promotion efforts across every sector. Deepening the strategic use of technology is equally vital, enabling IPAs to operate more efficiently, target investors more precisely, and strengthen their overall capacity to attract and retain FDI.

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