– Saint Lucia is the second country to adopt a new country-led approach to address barriers to investment and attract greater sources of capital, leading the way for small island nations in the Caribbean region.
– Developed by the World Economic Forum, the Country Financing Roadmap (CFR) highlights ways to unlock some of the financing and investment bottlenecks that limit sustainable development in areas like renewable energy and upskilling development.
– The new roadmap was built by leaders and representatives from more than 50 institutions from the public-sector, development finance, banks, and private-sector investors amongst others.
– Learn more and read the Country Financing Roadmap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Saint Lucia
Geneva, Switzerland, 3 December 2021 – In partnership with the Government of Saint Lucia, the World Economic Forum is launching the Country Financing Roadmap for the SDGs. It aims to help Saint Lucia unlock sources of funding, remove investment bottlenecks and develop a more coordinated approach for financing projects that are environmentally friendly or can help people develop new skills.
The Country Financing Roadmap for Saint Lucia provides an overview of priority initiatives for leaders to assess and action project work – potentially saving money and helping to identify synergies across funding areas.
For example, the initiative brought together reskilling programmes with $12 million in total budget that can support the country’s economic recovery efforts – potentially supercharging efforts. These include a collaboration between the European Commission and Forte, to help 500-600 people develop skills related to hospitality, digital skills and green or blue economy by the end of 2022, at no upfront cost to the government.
Another project, the Caribbean Climate-Smart Fund initiative by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and Lion’s Head Global Partners (LHGP), is working towards mobilising both private and below market rate capital to finance a $80 million project pipeline dedicated to renewable energy in Saint Lucia.
“Finding viable solutions in the short, medium and long term to the myriad challenges that plague small island developing states (SIDS) like Saint Lucia is critical to safeguarding and putting the needs of our people first while achieving meaningful post-COVID socioeconomic recovery and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Wayne Girard, Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and the Youth Economy, Government of Saint Lucia. “The CFR not only presents Saint Lucia with actionable options to unlock some of the financing and investment bottlenecks that limit sustainable development, it also presents a useful mechanism for replication across other SIDS in the Caribbean region. Saint Lucia is committed to continuing its work with the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP), to advance a regional approach to driving our collective capacities to build back better.”
“Saint Lucia has demonstrated its commitment to meeting the SDGs by embarking on several important initiatives, with some of the most important focusing on financing targets,” said Sean de Cleene, Member of the Executive Committee of the World Economic Forum. “We hope that this CFR initiative will create opportunities for Saint Lucia and other countries to fast track similar impact projects.”
The CFR is a country-led initiative in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP) and a joint initiative of the World Economic Forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Its goal is drive economic recovery and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by presenting viable solutions that address barriers to investment and attract greater sources of capital.
As a small island nation, Saint Lucia is vulnerable to economic shifts and continues to expand recovery efforts due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed the country to an 86.5% debt-to-GDP ratio for 2020. In 2019, tourism accounted for 80% of the nation’s labour market which faced a reduction in jobs from 63,400 in 2019 to 41,600 in 2020 as a result of the crisis, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Barriers to sustainable growth also hinge on the population’s dependence on fossil fuels which, through a successful transition to renewable energy, could increase self-sufficiency, equity, and environmental sustainability.
Alongside the CFR, the government in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the University of Oxford launched the Saint Lucia National Infrastructure Financing Strategy developed using the Sustainable Infrastructure Financing Tool (SIFT), which complements the CFR and further explores the opportunities for sustainable infrastructure financing in the country.
The Sustainable Development Investment Partnership plans to continue its support to the Government of Saint Lucia and regional organisations in hosting a series of discussions on reskilling and renewable energy solutions with over the next six months.
A platform of the World Economic Forum and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), supporting public and private sector financiers and investors to innovate and scale investment for developing countries’ transition to greener, more resilient and more sustainable economies.