The Caribbean’s Lack of an Entrepreneurial Culture
Paints a Bleak Picture for Prosperity in the 21st Century
In the new book Power and Progress — Our 1000-Year Struggle Over Technology & Prosperity by best-selling authors Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson — Acemoglu is also a co-author of the phenomenal New York Times Bestseller, Why Nations Fail — The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. What these books teach us is that decisions matter! And those decisions made around how a society organizes itself and chooses to identify itself, particularly around entrepreneurship, the utilization of technology and innovation, are vital. These are among the most critical factors in determining any nation’s future economic prosperity level.
Entrepreneurial spirit and culture have been directly correlated to a group’s ability to thrive in the universe! Secondly, technology and innovation have underwritten positive outcomes where wealth creation is concerned. Whether it be new tools, innovations, and methods in farming via the agricultural revolutions of the past, or the increased productive power of the invention of the steam engine, electricity, or the computer. Technology and innovation coupled with entrepreneurship have been the driving force that underlies human economic progress and prosperity.
For example, the Caribbean region’s lack of participation in the industrial revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries, set the region back at least 100 years in economic growth, modernization, technological development and innovative progress.
No fault of their own because the slave trade and colonialism allowed the British to purposefully exclude the region. Using it instead only to extract raw materials and free labour. Shipping those raw resources back to Britain for manufacturing, trade and commerce…sucked up all the Caribbean’s wealth to enrich themselves.
However, in the post-independence era and now in the first quarter of the 21st century, we can no longer blame colonialism. The Caribbean makes its own decisions as a society, but unfortunately, leadership has been extremely poor. Lacking good judgment, vision, and courage. Caribbean leadership has also been self-serving, elitist, and romanticizing its colonial past. No other example suits that description better than Barbados. Barbados politicians long ago and according to Sir Hilary Beckles: Black elites/leaders traded their country’s economics for political status. It was an unspoken arrangement he says whereby the tiny white minority population would continue, in the legacy of colonialism, to remain in control of the economy. In exchange, the new form of Black elites would get the politics — choosing status over the wealth of its nation.
This level of stupidity is dumbfounding and can only be described in the words of the great poet, Bob Marley, “…mental slavery,” a function of the inferiority and paternalistic complex that Bajans have self-inflicted on themselves, to this day!
Today, Black Bajan families have no legacy wealth to pass on, only the whites do. Therefore, there is no underlying force to fund future generations’ entrepreneurial ventures organically — this is how wealth is fundamentally created and sustained — intergenerationally! Blacks are shut out of opportunities and deals; from land development to manufacturing, to the service industry. Barbados is controlled by less than five white families — the White Bajan Mafia. Black Bajans are left with low wages in the tourism servitude industry. Brainwashed into romanticizing the plantation era and believing that being trained to say “yes please” is somehow progress. It is a betrayal of leadership and basic dignity is what it is!
The entrepreneurial spirit encourages us to be honest with ourselves, take responsibility for solving our own problems and not waiting or relying on others. Not to depend on the government, foreign aid agencies, multinational development banks, or barrels from relatives in the diaspora. The region is inflicted with a dependency culture, a killer of the human spirit — ambition and entrepreneurship, all of which are essential ingredients for wealth creation. But the entrepreneur culture, on the other hand, emboldens people to believe in themselves and lead by example. To act on necessity — the mother of all invention. To identify those opportunities that can create the most economic value for themselves, family, community and country. Improving a country’s quality of life.
However, the lack of comprehensive, bold and transcending, well-thought-out, fact-based development strategies underpinned by solid entrepreneurial development policies in the region. Paints a darkening picture of the future of the Caribbean. The dependency on Western government aid/charity, “project funding,” or waiting on Chinese or Middle-east bag men to come…is extraordinarily harmful to the Black human condition’s aspirations and values. Furthermore, those funds only create a vicious circle of corruption and cronyism — leadership incompetence, squandering money…thrown at bogus projects. And of course, the sheer useless and bloated academic-filled organization, CARICOM.
To this day, and by any measurable economic value metric, you can’t identify a single meaningful and sustained value creation from CARICOM — it’s an inept talk shop filled with academics drawing nice salaries. CARICOM is an example of what you don’t do. Economies are fundamentally run by the natural flow of business/entrepreneurship, and the government’s role is to identify progressive policies that help entrepreneurs succeed. Because when they succeed, a country’s economy will expand along with that success.
Furthermore, CARICOM fosters the scam of bringing in Western consulting firms like PwC and McKinsey & Company, etc. Whereby, when Western agencies or governments grant money for “projects.” Of course, they then say that there are no qualified individuals or firms in the Caribbean with the technical expertise “required” to run these projects. Hence, the funding has clauses written in requiring the “hiring” of Western consulting firms to do the work. In short, the money goes right back to the West. So, after you factor in corruption, cronyism, mismanagement and waste by the local elite with the consulting scam. There is no money left to reach the real local economy, no risk capital flows to fund young local entrepreneurs with good business ideas.
According to acclaimed Professor Mariana Mazzucato, in her most recent book titled THE BIG CON — How the Consulting Industry Weakens Our Businesses, Infantilizes Our Governments, and Warps Our Economies; says that the overuse of consultants, both by private businesses and governments “stunts innovation, obfuscates corporate and political accountability, and impedes efforts to fight climate change.”
Caribbean governments, enterprises and organizations alike, remain infantilized and fragile, but it’s time to become antifragile if we want any chance at a better quality of life for our populations! Time to stop behaving as inferior, as beggars, time to lead ourselves and take responsibility for our own future. Time to behave with dignity and pride, show some self-respect and engage in entrepreneurial activity. Stop with the mindset of “not wanting to be first” and the paternalistic inferior behaviour of waiting for the white man to come and show you how. Even when the Black man is right in front of you, with the same knowledge and expertise showing you the same damn thing! Let’s eliminate that debilitating self-hate.
There is no more time for talk, only for action. Time to get directly onto the global supply chain and position ourselves to ride the enormous global wealth curve expansion. Otherwise, we’ll miss this big 21st century new digital economy move, and be left even further behind.
Much of the data about the region shows that things are getting worse, and leadership is clueless about that. Take for example the Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell. Since coming to power in 2022 with a lot of talk about change and new-economy transformation. Not a single measurable economic achievement can be identified. No meaningful entrepreneurial policy or actions has been taken, no policy about funding innovations or technology developments, developing capital markets, bringing in foreign direct investment, western company relocation promotion, etc.; nothing!
Either Mitchell is over his head, still in the honeymoon phase, or he has yet to realize that he’s in a leadership position at one of the most consequential and transformative times in human history.
What PM Mitchell is doing instead is travelling to the UK, America, and Canada in continued celebration of his election victory back in 2022. He’s still doing the handshake and smiles with his National Democratic Congress party supporters in the diaspora.
However, any real capable leader who knows what leadership is about, recognizes that they must promote investment for their country as a first principle of leadership. This must be the priority when travelling to rich countries. Prime Ministers and Presidents understand that they are their countries’ chief salesman. They must look to foster trade deals, bring investment and new technology transfers, and deliver the opportunities that can create good skilled and well-paying jobs. Capable leaders understand that it is their responsibility as the head of government, to engage and foster activities that drive their country towards a middle-class economy…creating economic security for people. That’s the job requirement!
For example, PM Mitchell travelled to Toronto earlier this summer but spent all his time taking selfies with party supporters — dinners and events raising money for his party. However, just an hour-and-a-half south of Toronto rests a significant greenhouse/indoor farming business community — an agriculture/technology hub — AgTech (AgTech, also known as Agricultural Technology or Agrotechnology, is the application of technology to agriculture, horticulture, and aquaculture to help increase yield, efficiency, and profitability in the business of farming.)
The PM was informed about this opportunity and that something would be officially organized for him to tour and meet business owners, officials, investors and financial industry CEOs. However, he never responded and spent the people’s time and money celebrating with his party faithful instead.
In sum, the opportunity would’ve been at the least a knowledge acquisition opportunity, that could then be applied to Grenada’s most competitive advantage — agriculture/environment. The opportunity for technology transfers and investment, relocation of greenhouse businesses that would create new higher paying skilled jobs. But once again, opportunities are missed and the people of Grenada continue to suffer.
Countries rise and fall on their entrepreneurial spirit and strategies. Singapore is the prime example of courageous and strategic leadership that transformed a poor country into an extremely wealthy one. And the benefits are being passed down intergenerationally. After the British left, Singapore was left poor with no natural resources to count on. However, they didn’t just sit there in dependency waiting. Instead, they led themselves with an entrepreneurial culture; creating bold growth policies and developing business strategies to lift Singapore out of deep poverty. Today, Singapore is a shining example of how leadership, entrepreneurship, and strategy — applied intelligently, can be transformative!
The Caribbean region in contrast has taken on the identity and culture of complacency and fragility — avoiding entrepreneurial risk-taking and no strategy development. And when those with the fortitude and courage to venture into risk are met with inertia dependency culture and disencouragement. The very Caribbean negative forces of doing nothing, sitting on the veranda complaining, and things remaining unchanged. The region exists in a culture of fear-of-failure and the soft slumber and comfort of the subconscious embrace paternalism.
Worse, the old guard businessmen (both White and Black,) the local fat cats…those elites…do not invest in the ideas of young entrepreneurs. It is our only path and hopes for a prosperous future. Young entrepreneurs are the future of any potentially prosperous economy. Developing economies desperately need more young, educated and tech-savvy people with their big dreams and fearlessness. It’s a matter of survival for the region in the 21st century that it embraces the entrepreneurial mindset and invests and fosters young Black entrepreneurs!
No local tech entrepreneurs exist that are developing new technologies, new methodologies, or new business ideas. We have no policies towards R&D, scientific discoveries and the drive to commercialization of our best young entrepreneur’s ideas. We have no strategy for the critical development of an export-based economy which brings in foreign currency and creates local wealth. There is no thought given about capital markets development — without access to capital ideas just die on the vine and so too does our future prosperity.
There is no invention happening in the Caribbean, just the same old same old — falling for more scams from phony foreign “investors.” Rethreading of useless schemes like the “Passport Programs” that only attract more shady individuals. There is no new thinking whatsoever!
What we are left with is oligopolistic rent-seeking businesses and old businessmen/selfish crony elites — the bogus self-declared Caribbean aristocracy. They don’t invest outside their aristocratic court, they keep everything for themselves — no reciprocal contributions to productivity are happening. Our economies are stagnating from a lack of risk capital — dehydration of fresh thinking — stifling entrepreneurial culture development.
The region needs authentic and capable leadership, a renaissance in new thinking. It needs relevant and applied intelligence-led strategies and policies that cultivate innovation and technology-led growth — underwritten by a robust and dynamic entrepreneurial culture. Which represents the heart of any economy.
At the end of the day, everyone is responsible for shaping their nation's culture, we can’t make excuses any longer — sitting on verandas complaining and blaming the politicians has become a sport in the Caribbean. We each have to step up and take responsibility within our own corners of the universe — lead ourselves. Time to open our eyes to how the world really works. Time to read more…less social media, which only miseducates you. Put pressure on leadership and stop accepting mediocrity and stupidness. Put your country’s prosperity over petty party politics — the region is way too small to engage in destructive and primitive partisanship behaviour — we’re only engaging in the politics of self-destruction!
What we choose to do next matters most! Things won’t change until we change our minds and behaviours. Things can be fixed but not until we get off the veranda and stop complaining; do something about our situations. As we each take action and begin to move so too will the herd — nothing drives action like action itself. We must act individually, collectively, and simultaneously. We need a sense of urgency if we are going to have any relevance in the world through the 21st century. However, the goal must not be merely to survive, but to thrive in the 21st century, and beyond!
