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PROJECTIONS VS POTENTIAL:

SAINT LUCIA AND THE IMF’S 3.4% GROWTH FORECAST BY ED KENNEDY, STAR BUSINESSWEEK CORRESPONDENT

When it comes to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent assessment of Saint Lucia, readers of The STAR Businessweek have much to be excited about. The IMF’s recent Regional Economic Outlook gave kudos to the strong performance of the tourism sector especially, for having been a key driver of broader economic growth. The most recent report followed on from the in-depth examination of Saint Lucia under the IMF’s Article IV consultations, seeing it also single out (alongside tourism) foreign direct investment and the increased investment in infrastructure as core elements of the nation’s economic momentum.

Mauritius at 50 provides textbook example of move up value chain A few years after Mauritius became independent half a century ago, the Trinidad-born writer VS Naipaul visited the Indian Ocean island 1,200 miles off the south-east coast of Africa. He was not impressed Pages 3 & 7

Continued on page 4

Seychelles sells world’s first blue bond in ‘dolphin debt’ deal The tiny island nation of Seychelles has become the first country to raise funds in the bond markets to protect dolphins and other marine life, in a deal which also involves the World Bank and the Prince of Wales Page 7

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THE FUTURE OF CRUISING

How cruise companies are using technology to reduce their environmental footprint and enhance guest experience BY CATHERINE MORRIS, STAR BUSINESSWEEK CORRESPONDENT

The STAR Businessweek BY CHRISTIAN WAYNE – EDITOR AT LARGE

As I put together this week’s edition of The STAR Businessweek, I can’t help but recall a contribution made to Rick Wayne’s TALK! television programme on DBS last Thursday October 25th. Seated with his guest, local politician and Minister for Economic Development Guy Joseph—a minister forever at the centre of opposition roro, allegations of bobol, and other disyllabic creole accusations—Wayne welcomed a phone call from an obviously irate viewer. The contribution, less prescient than it was obvious, was a modest yet critical request for Saint Lucia’s two political parties to come to an agreement on the development trajectory of our nation. In other words, the caller was asking for the bobol and roro to be set aside, even if for just a hot Castries minute, so that the ruling party and the opposition could set overarching, bipartisan ground rules on how to address basic facets of Saint Lucia’s development: an agreement on how to tackle public debt, the size of the public service, taxation, education, and our approach to FDI, to name a few. Earnest as the contribution was, it smacked of naivety as much as it did of desperation. Conjured images of a frustrated fellow citizen throwing his hands in the air as he makes one last-ditch effort (on his last 2 minutes of phone credit) to instate rules of engagement in an island that can only be described as a political backwater. Thankfully, not every small island state is run as poorly or as myopically as ours. In this week’s edition, Mauritius and the Seychelles, two islands in the Indian ocean, are the subjects of reporting by the Financial Times. Despite being run for half a century by only two political parties (sound familiar?), Mauritius is a textbook example of how an island nation can reinvent itself over and over again while progressively improving the quality of life for its citizens and its private sector in each of its proceeding economic chapters. Read that story on pages 3 & 7. The Seychelles, though they haven’t been able to crest the development success of their Mauritian neighbour, are operating at the cutting-edge of international development finance by leveraging the transformative powers of the world’s capital markets (instead of lazily engaging in the usual Chinese-Taiwanese coquetry we’ve become so fond of). For more on that story, read “Seychelles sells world’s first blue bond in ‘dolphin debt’ deal” on page 7. Finally, be sure to read this week’s lead story “Projections vs Potential: Saint Lucia and the IMF’s 3.4% Growth Forecast” starting on page 1. Spoiler alert, much of that projected growth seems to be based on what our Tourism Minister Dominic Fedee is fond of referring to as ‘projects in the pipeline’. But how long will those projects remain in utero? That’s above my paygrade … and his! It’s Nothing Personal. It’s Business. Stay connected with us at: Web: www.stluciastar.com Social: www.facebook.com/stluciastar Email: starbusinessweek@stluciastar.com

At a time when companies across all sectors are coming under scrutiny for their impact on the environment, the cruise industry is setting sail for an even more sustainable future

nce known as the vacation of choice for the elderly and retired, cruising has had a facelift in recent years. Thanks to game-changing technology, the industry is evolving and the latest wave of innovation isn’t just good for passengers, it’s great for the environment too.

FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY

Around 28 million cruise ship passengers will take to the sea in 2018, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, and 27 new vessels will make their debut this year as cruise companies worldwide rush to keep up with demand. In the Caribbean, mega-liners have long been a common sight at island ports. The

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industry is a huge tourism contributor with many regional destinations heavily dependent on the millions of passengers that disembark annually. Saint Lucia’s cruise business grew by 27 per cent in 2017 and the country is on course to welcome around 800,000 passengers this year. While the industry is enjoying steady growth, it has not remained immune to the recent trend towards eco-conscious and ethical travel. Not content with browsing the buffet and taking in the view, today’s passengers are becoming more aware of their environmental footprint and are attracted to brands that are openly focused on sustainable tourism. For the companies themselves, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword to get guests onboard, it’s key to the survival of their

business. Cruise lines have come under fire in the past with well-founded concerns over their impact on local marine life and ecosystems, pollution, garbage and emissions. Many islands in the Caribbean have struggled to balance the need for cruise dollars with protecting their natural environment — itself a major draw for visitors. With thousands of ships docking in the Caribbean each year, protecting the region’s natural assets is paramount. Speaking recently at a maritime conference in The Bahamas, Senior Vice President of Marine Operations with Royal Caribbean International (RCI) Gregory Purdy said cruise companies recognise that sustainability is good for business, and are also Continued on page 5

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MAURITIUS AT 50 PROVIDES TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF MOVE UP VALUE CHAIN Emergence of African oasis of political and economic stability confounds sceptics BY DAVID PILLING, FT AFRICA EDITOR

few years after Mauritius became independent half a century ago, the Trinidad-born writer VS Naipaul visited the Indian Ocean island 1,200 miles off the south-east coast of Africa. He was not impressed. In his 1972 essay The Overcrowded Barracoon — a barracoon is an enclosure for slaves — Naipaul saw a desperately poor people and a potentially explosive ethnic mix of Indians, Africans, Chinese and French. He envisaged little way out of poverty for a monocrop economy in which there was only “sugar cane and sugar cane ending in the sea”. Mauritius has proved him spectacularly wrong. In the 50 years since independence, the island has been transformed. Sugar now makes up only a tiny fraction of economic activity. It has been a near-textbook example of how to move an economy up the value chain by continually reinventing itself — first as textile manufacturer and luxury tourist destination and latterly as a financial services and back-office processing hub. Now it wants to move further up again by offering sophisticated legal and consultancy services to the more than 20,000 companies registered on the island: they will have to demonstrate substantial activity as part of Mauritius’s drive to ensure it is not categorised as a tax haven. It wants to capitalise on its role as a “gateway to Africa”, fuelling investment to the continent.

Fireworks in March marked 50 years of independence © AFP

The government has also induced several universities, including Middlesex of the UK and the African Leadership University, to set up campuses in order to establish the island as a centre of learning and raise the skills of its population. Mauritius presents itself as an oasis of stability with continuity of policy, technical capacity, and a dependable legal system whose final court of appeal is the Privy Council in London. That image has occasionally come under strain when countries — notably India — have complained that Mauritius is depriving them of taxes. India’s double tax avoidance treaty with the island is being phased out for that reason. “Because the economic activities don’t occur in Mauritius, it is a conduit to take away taxable revenue from other countries,” says Alexander Ezenagu, an expert in international tax law at McGill University in Canada.

Although Mauritius shuns the secrecy offered by other jurisdictions, it has occasionally been exposed for lax oversight. In 2016, its Financial Services Commission awarded an investment banking licence to Alvaro Sobrinho, an Angolan banker whose licence had initially been refused by the stricter Bank of Mauritius. Mr Sobrinho also happened to be the head of the Planet Earth Institute, whose provision of a platinum credit card to then president Ameenah Gurib-Fakim — and her subsequent use of it to go on a $24,000 shopping expedition — led to her resignation in March. Officials argue Mauritius has a strong rule of law and question whether a leader would resign over so paltry a sum in any other African country. “If Mauritius is a haven for something, it is a haven for stability,” says Joseph Cartier, chairman of the island’s Economic Development Board. It is these qualities and not low taxes, he says, that

attract most offshore businesses — especially companies wishing to protect their investments in potentially unstable African jurisdictions. Of the $26bn Mr Cartier estimates was invested via the island into Africa in 2016, $10bn was with countries with which Mauritius has no double-taxation treaty, implying, he says, that reduced taxation was not a prime motivation. Rama Sithanen, a former finance minister who is credited with helping the initial push into financial services, says Mauritius will move up the value chain in this industry just as it has in others. In textiles, for example, many businesses have kept going even as wages have risen, largely through increased automation. “We will deepen and broaden the services we offer to include financial technologies, derivative products and attract fund managers to come and set up,” says Mr Sithanen. Whatever the controversies over its low-tax regime, no other African country has come closer to emulating the Asianstyle model of development. GDP per capita has risen from about $200 at independence to $10,000, catapulting Mauritius close to high-income status, according to the World Bank definition. Until recently, the spoils of economic growth were reasonably equitably distributed, although income disparities have widened in recent years. To address this, Mauritius has introduced a 5 per cent “solidarity levy” on income for high earners on top of existing tax rates, and an innovative “negative tax” for low ones. The minimum wage has recently been nearly doubled to MR8,140 (about $230) a month. Because of a British decision not to dispossess the French of their land when it took over the colony in 1810, the small French population continues to have an outsized economic grip. Indo-Mauritians, who also boast Continued on page 7

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PROJECTIONS VS POTENTIAL: SAINT LUCIA AND THE IMF’S 3.4% GROWTH FORECAST Continued from page 1

Yet, while the short term projections were good, the IMF’s report has also detailed some issues expected to impact in the long term. The benefit of awareness about them now, means there’s time to grow dialogue and consider what options exist to address them going forward. So let’s dive indepth.

in this scenario would make a bad problem worse. Alongside this, one overarching goal of driving down public debt remains key. The IMF contends that a greater focus will need be placed behind this goal if Saint Lucia is to meet its Eastern Caribbean Currency Union debt target of ‘60 by 30’ (60% by 2030).

BACKGROUND

PROJECTIONS FROM OTHER GROUPS AGREE SAINT LUCIA WILL GROW

Having concluded an Article IV consultation in June of this year, the IMF has provided a positive outlook for Saint Lucia. While these forecasts are contingent, in part, on the expected completion of a number of the major tourism projects that have been in development — like the Fairmount in Choiseul, The Sandals Golf & Country Club, Dreams and Secrets in Canelles and the the Pearl of the Caribbean’s first stage — a delay or setback in one or all would impact the IMF’s viewpoint. Ultimately, the IMF’s assessment of Saint Lucia’s progress in the short term is bullish. While the short term is promising, the report also underlined the need for more substantial change to drive growth in the long term, with a focus on removing structural barriers and reducing high production costs. Yet combatting the impact of climate change remains central to any future planning. Already the damage caused by it accounts for 1% of Saint Lucia’s annual GDP. In a more severe weather environment, it could exceed 5%, and place new pressure on social supports and services, especially as the projections for diminished tax revenue

As Ernst and Young noted in its report on the 2018 budget, though “diversification has proven to be a very difficult path to execute, it cannot be ignored”. The strengths that Saint Lucia has in tourism are real strengths, but the future will ideally see greater growth alongside the development of new sectors that co-exist, and indeed complement it. The financial reforms that the Chastanet government has made a priority are central to this. Reforms to more effectively address a foreclosure and post-foreclosure auctions, reforms to simplify the current laws surrounding insolvency, and the establishment of lending with the use of non-traditional assets have all been cited prior as cornerstones of this new vision. For Saint Lucia to drive forward at its strongest, it is not only these reforms but the capacity of the Chastanet government (and any that may succeed it) to create a reformist spirit that will be key. There is no shortage of (democratic) governments around the world that struggle to pass needed reforms but, in Saint Lucia’s

The IMF executive board concludes 2018 consultation with Saint Lucia

case, progress is crucial, and greater pressure is on Chastanet’s government accordingly.

THE FRAGILITY OF FORECASTS

While the forecast for Saint Lucia in the near term is positive, it is not without

qualifications. The forecast based upon the expected completion of major projects comes with the recognition that a major project is always subject to the potential for delays, and even outright collapse. An example of the ordeals that major development can offer up has been seen

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The Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas that encountered immense delays — taking over ten years to develop before its opening in April 2017, and even then doing so only in part — remains a rolled gold example of what can be encountered in a major tourism project. Baha Mar was originally forecast to add 12 per cent to the Bahamas GDP, yet ultimately the setbacks were so severe as to be a contributing factor to the S&P Global credit rating agency downgrading the Bahamas sovereign rating before the resort’s opening. These events are a sobering warning sign to anyone who reads forecasts and projections as a clear-cut promise.

CANNOT GO SHORT ON LONG TERM

Having concluded an Article IV consultation in June of this year, the IMF has provided a positive outlook for Saint Lucia

in recent months within Saint Lucia, as Range Development’s plans for a Ritz Carlton in Black Bay encountered immense turbulence. While the Black Bay episode was unique to Saint Lucia, other nations around the region have known similar experiences.

The hurdle ahead for Saint Lucia is to maximise opportunities in the short term without diminishing those in the long term. In many respects the timing of this isn’t ideal as global trends, such as Brexit and concerns over the risk of another GFC, are seeing nations prioritise short term gains, not to mention a 24/7 media cycle that so often sees politicians focused on their political survival at a particular moment instead of planning for the years ahead. But ultimately, and especially for a nation like Saint Lucia with opportunity now to consolidate gains that could see off future challenges, there’s a capacity here to chart a course for more long-term and stable growth. Even if that growth turns out not to be as strong as the forecast indicated, prioritising consistency and sustainability is surely the chief task for the economy in the short and long term.

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THE FUTURE OF CRUISING Continued from page 2

keenly aware that they have an opportunity to create best practices that can spread to other sectors. “The cruise industry is very focused on this area and we have the resources to do a good job and lead the world. We work with suppliers to leverage our scale and to change the industry. We can drive that because of the volumes we drive around the world. “For us it is business critical because people will not want to visit where we have damaged the area. We need to make sure we are adding value to communities.” Purdy predicts that the ships of the future will make greater use of technology to reduce emissions and become more energy efficient. Carnival will be first to market when it launches North America’s first liquified natural gas (LNG)-powered cruise ship in 2020 from Port Canaveral in Florida. Disney is following suit with three LNG liners joining its fleet in 2021, 2022 and 2023. RCI will debut its own LNG ships in 2022 with the new ICON class. “LNG is the way of the future for the next 10 or 20 years,” said Purdy. “We have a lot of interest in that. It is very exciting.” ICON is also set to incorporate fuel cell technology which takes in hydrogen and converts it to electricity. The only byproduct of this process is water, thereby significantly reducing harmful emissions.

CUTTING-EDGE EXPERIENCES

Technology isn’t just helping cruise companies go green, it’s also redefining the guest experience. Artifical intelligence, virtual reality, geolocation and face recognition software — the industry is in the midst of a technological revolution that will make cruising easier, safer and more enjoyable. Last year Carnival Corporation unveiled its ‘smart ship’ technology in the form of a small, personalised medallion that contains passenger information and can interact with the entire ship. Passengers can upload their personal preferences to the Ocean Medallion which are then used by staff to suggest activities. The medallion can also open cabin doors, display user’s vacation photos and be used to order drinks or food from

anywhere onboard. RCI has been investing heavily in virtual and augmented reality. This spring the company introduced the Skypad, where guests bounce on trampolines while strapped into a bungee harnass and using VR headsets to give them the sensation of bouncing through different landscapes and worlds. On the Quantum of the Seas, guests with interior rooms can still have a view thanks to virtual reality balconies. Cruise companies are also using technology to combat one of the biggest guest gripes — the long and cumbersome boarding process. RCI offers facial recognition software to passengers who want to skip the queue at check-in and most of the market’s heavyhitters such as Carnival and Disney have apps allowing passengers to book shore excursions and other activities ahead of time.

PREPARING FOR GROWTH

As cruise companies lure more visitors onboard with the latest gadgetry, small islands like Saint Lucia are positioning themselves to take advantage of the increase in the market. Saint Lucia’s government is looking to further grow its cruise business with the multi-million dollar expansion and redevelopment of Castries Harbour and Pointe Seraphine. Upgrades to the port now allow it to accomodate Quantum class vessels, which can carry nearly 5,000 passengers per visit. There are also plans to develop in the South, with the Il Pirata site in Vieux Fort earmarked for a new cruise terminal. But it’s not enough to entice ships to visit; if Caribbean destinations are going to reap the rewards of increased cruising, they have to encourage passengers to disembark and directly contribute to the local economy. The current cruising revolution will generate more business in the years to come but the Caribbean cannot be left behind. If it wants to grab a share of the market, the region’s tourism stakeholders must stay ahead of the game and bear in mind that high-tech entertainment options available at sea could make it more difficult for land-based providers to compete.

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IMF SAYS RECOVERY IN CARIBBEAN HAS LOST MOMENTUM

The IMF headquarters in Washington, DC, United States

ashington, DC, United States — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says its Regional Economic Outlook for the Western Hemisphere has marked down its growth forecasts for Latin America and the Caribbean to 1.2 per cent in 2018 and 2.2 per cent in 2019, from the May 2018 forecasts of 2.0 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively. “The moderating recovery is underpinned by divergent growth outcomes across the region,” the Washington-based financial institution said on Wednesday.

In some of the region’s largest economies, it said the recovery has slowed sharply “as country-specific characteristics amplify the impact of growing trade tensions and tightening monetary conditions.” “Moreover, higher global oil prices coupled with increased political uncertainty have dampened the near-term outlook in several economies in Central America,” the IMF said. But it said there are bright spots to the outlook. It said better terms-of-trade over the past year and improvements in consumer and business confidence have boosted the growth prospects in some Andean economies (such as Colombia, Chile and Peru), adding that

“activity is recovering in the Caribbean, reflecting the uptick in tourism owing to robust US growth”. “Despite the slowdown in regional economic activity, private investment is showing signs of life,” Alejandro Werner, director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, told a press conference in Bali, Indonesia. Having contracted for three years in a row, Werner said private investment in Latin America and the Caribbean is estimated to have ”stopped being a major drag to growth in 2017 and is gaining further strength”. In the last quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018, the contribution of investment to growth in the region turned positive and is projected to continue supporting the recovery this year and next, the IMF said. Nevertheless, it said investment levels are expected to remain below the levels observed in other regions, “which would be explained in part by low saving rates”. In this regard, the IMF said prospects for long-term growth in the region remain modest at 2.8 per cent. It, however, said economic prospects for the Caribbean are improving. “Growth in the region is expected to firm up this year and next, supported by robust US and global growth,” the IMF said. “Reconstruction from the devastating hurricanes of 2017 in some tourismdependent countries has been largely delayed so far but is expected to pick up in 2019.” The IMF said rising commodity prices and production are projected to lead to stronger growth for commodity exporters. It said a slowdown in global trade, owing to a range of factors — including rising protectionism, an escalation of ongoing trade disputes, fluctuations in energy prices, and an abrupt tightening of global financial

conditions — “could undermine the nascent recovery and further reduce long-term growth prospects in Latin America and the Caribbean”. The IMF said regional and domestic risks have also intensified since the spring, including political risks, regional spillovers, and the recurrence of extreme weather events such as hurricanes in the Caribbean. It said Latin America and the Caribbean countries continue to carry primary deficits that exceed debt-stabilising levels, limiting the scope for government support. “Higher energy prices and continued depreciation limit the room to manoeuvre interest rate policy,” it said, adding that “Credible policy frameworks should guide policies and expectations over time to protect the recovery from a less benign external environment”. “With external dollar financing needs being relatively high in some countries and capital flows ebbing, policymakers in the region should be prepared for further capital outflow pressures,” the IMF urged. “In this regard, exchange rate flexibility (where applicable) will remain key. Foreign exchange intervention should be limited to containing excess volatility in the event of disorderly market conditions.” Implementing key reforms can build growth with widespread benefits. “Despite the increased downside risks, many countries in the region should continue to focus on much-needed structural reforms that would boost productive capacity and help build strong, durable, and inclusive growth over the medium term,” the IMF continued. It said reforms should focus on increasing saving and investment rates, reducing misallocation of resources, making labour markets more flexible, liberalising trade, reducing informal labour markets, and improving the business climate.

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SOVEREIGN BONDS

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SEYCHELLES SELLS WORLD’S FIRST BLUE BOND IN ‘DOLPHIN DEBT’ DEAL Sale by tiny island nation is first with expressed purpose of protecting marine life

BY KATE ALLEN, FT CAPITAL MARKETS & SOVEREIGN DEBT CORRESPONDENT

he tiny island nation of Seychelles has become the first country to raise funds in the bond markets to protect dolphins and other marine life, in a deal which also involves the World Bank and the Prince of Wales. Seychelles is the first country to sell debt that is earmarked specifically for ocean projects, raising $15m in a 10-year ‘blue bond’ which is modelled on the green- labelled debt which first emerged a decade ago and has since grown into a $150bn-a-year market. The country received help in designing the bond from the World Bank, which pioneered the use of green bonds, and an environmental foundation set up by the Prince of Wales to work on sustainability challenges. Arunma Oteh, vice-president and treasurer of the World Bank, said the blue bond was “an example of the powerful role of capital markets in connecting investors to projects that support better stewardship of the planet”. Although the amount raised was small, it acted as a proof of concept for the blue bond structure, she said: “We hope that this bond will pave the way for others — much like the World Bank’s first green bond catalysed the green bond market 10 years ago.” A record $155bn of green-labelled debt was sold in 2017, according to

credit rating agency Moody’s, which forecasts that between $175bn and $200bn will be sold this year. The bond “will greatly assist Seychelles in achieving a transition to sustainable fisheries and safeguarding our oceans while we sustainably develop our blue economy”, said Vincent Meriton, vice-president of the Republic of Seychelles. Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands and 1.4m sq km of ocean. Fish products comprise 95 per cent of its exports and the fishing industry employs 17 per cent of its population. The bond proceeds will be used to expand its protected marine areas, invest in fisheries and offer grants and loans to oceanrelated industries. Justin Mundy, former director of the Prince of Wales’ international sustainability unit, said the bond’s concept was conceived in 2014 with the unit’s help. “The bond demonstrates that institutional investors can become involved in helping to build a truly sustainable blue economy that supports critical marine ecosystems,” he said. Jennifer Pryce, chief executive of Calvert Impact Capital, one of the three investors who bought the bond, said there was an “urgent” need for capital “to address threats to the health of our ocean”. The bond’s structure is a way of to “align marine conservation and economic opportunity”, she said.

The other investors who bought into the bond were Nuveen — a subsidiary of asset management giant TIAA — and Prudential Financial. Stephen Liberatore, manager of Nuveen’s ESG fixed income strategies, said climate change had “created both challenges and possibilities for investors”. “Investing with a responsible approach is both prudent and financially rewarding in the long term,” he said. “We hope this transaction serves as a template for creative impact investment solutions in the future.” The financing structure blends commercial and noncommercial funding sources — the bond is backed by a $5m guarantee from the World Bank, and a $5m concessionary loan from the Global Environment Facility, an international financing partnership backed by governments and other organisations, will partly cover the interest payments. The bond pays a 6.5 per cent annual coupon to investors, but the GEF loan will reduce the cost to Seychelles to 2.8 per cent. It is Seychelles’ second foray into environmental finance: earlier this year the country created two new marine protected areas as part of a 2016 deal to write off $20m of its debt.

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MAURITIUS AT 50 PROVIDES TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF MOVE UP VALUE CHAIN Continued from page 3

a number of successful business families and who make up about two-thirds of the population, are said to control politics, with every prime minister but one since independence of Indian descent. To a large extent, the black population, the descendants of slaves grabbed mainly from Mozambique and Madagascar, continue to miss out on both economic and political opportunity. Still, says Azim Currimjee, managing director of the beverage unit of the Currimjee conglomerate, Mauritius has never had the overt social friction predicted by Naipaul. Economic success has helped lift most boats, he says. “We’ve never had a recession in 37 years,” he adds. Since Naipaul was writing, the fertility rate has plummeted from six children per woman to just 1.4, lower than Japan’s and below the replacement value of 2.1. With 1.3m people, Mauritius is not overcrowded. That said, complaints of traffic congestion are common on an island with more than 600,000 registered vehicles. Mauritius has other traits associated with advanced economies, too. It is one of few African countries to have a McDonald’s fast food outlet. Diabetes, a disease of affluence, afflicts one in four islanders. Politically, the island’s reputation for stability — it

regularly comes top of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance — obscures the fact that power has oscillated almost uninterruptedly between two families, the Jugnauths and the Ramgoolams. Navin Ramgoolam, the former prime minister, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy and money laundering in 2015 after MR220m ($6.4m) was found in his private residence. The current prime minister, Pravind Jugnauth — known to the island’s taxi drivers as “son of dad” because his father bequeathed the premiership to him last year — also faces allegations of conflict of interest. After being convicted, Mr Jugnauth won his appeal, but the case will now be heard for a last time by the UK’s Privy Council. Mr Currimjee says despite these ructions, the basic story of the country’s progress has been uninterrupted. He notes that in 1961, Nobel Prize-winning economist James Meade, wrote pessimistically that, given Mauritian demographics, the country would struggle to maintain even the lowly living standards of the early 1960s. The Indian writer, Amitav Ghosh, wrote more positively in his 2008 novel, The Sea of Poppies, about its multicultural history. “So many people have written about Mauritius,” says Mr Currimjee. “In the end, we’ve kind of written our own story.”

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MAKING

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MOVES

SPORTE AVIS’ CO-FOUNDER NYUS ALFRED IS DEAD SET ON TRANSFORMING SAINT LUCIA’S SPORTS LANDSCAPE through sports is at the crux of what Sporte Avis does. Alfred and his team’s focus is to consistently curate resources to support local and regional athletes in their pursuit of sports scholarships, university enrolment and recruitment by international sports clubs.

STAR: HOW DID THE IDEA FOR SPORTE AVIS COME ABOUT? NYUS: When I first got the idea to start

Nyus Alfred at the 2018 Youth Leaders of the Americas Initiative in Detroit. Alfred believes and lives by the mantra, “Everywhere you go you must leave your mark.”

yus Alfred recently returned to Saint Lucia from the 2018 Youth Leaders of the Americas Initiative which pairs regional leaders with established international agencies in their field. The opporunity, he says, has been one

of his most rewarding thus far though his ownership of Sporte Avis has yielded a long list of accomplishments including the award for Outstanding Youth in Entrepreneurship and a placement at the Commonwealth Youth Conference on Entrepreneurship in Trinidad and Tobago earlier this year. Despite being known for its media work, development

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Sporte Avis I was working at a bank. That was back in 2013. Myself and Yanoi Fevriere, who is a friend and a co-founder, we’re both sports lovers. We were talking back then about the fact that there were platforms to basically promote everything from entertainment to tourism but there was nothing promoting our athletes and sports in Saint Lucia. Initially we talked about starting a sports magazine but when we got the quotes from publishing companies we realized we could not afford then to do anything in print. We decided to run Sporte Avis as an online platform; we worked on the concept and in 2014 we officially registered the business name. Our intention was to start off as a social enterprise geared directly towards providing exposure for talented and specifically at risk young people. We had no money-making objective because at the time we were both gainfully employed but, as the years went by, things had to change to become more sustainable.

STAR: HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO JUGGLE YOUR JOB AT THE BANK AND SIMULTANEOUSLY SPEARHEAD SPORTE AVIS? NYUS: I’d like to believe that I had an

amazing team. Like I said, I started off with Yanoi Fevriere, and Yanoi was a fantastic support at the time. We were handling everything well but at one point we realized for what we wanted to accomplish, we needed a strong team to do it. So we started reaching out to other passionate, young people we knew who could contribute. The team has been really instrumental and that’s what helped me create that balance between work and Sporte Avis at the time.

STAR: HOW HAVE THINGS EVOLVED, BOTH FINANCIALLY AND IN TERMS OF THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DO? NYUS: Sporte Avis is still a social

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enterprise but we had to find creative ways of generating revenue. For instance, after we put out some really good work, the OECS noticed and gave us assistance by helping us launch our website which we basically use to sell advertising. Also, in 2016 we had a show on Winners TV called “Youth Sport Express” that was a source of revenue as well, and from then we’ve been doing a lot of the same work. As of recent, we’ve gone into television

production where we produce the sports content for Choice TV. Our main work, however, still centres around the athletes and giving them that support that they need to get their names out there and to get the resources they require. We help them with profile videos they can use when seeking recruitment and give them advice on things like college application. Everything we do is at no cost to the athlete.

STAR: HOW DOES YOUR TEAM MANAGE TO DO THIS WORK THROUGHOUT THE CARIBBEAN? NYUS: Well I must admit that we have

been heavily focused on Saint Lucia but we do have a few correspondants in other countries who would provide us with information on the proposed athletes. We’ve interviewed quite a few athletes from across the OECS and worked with some from Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts. Over the next year or so we really want to build up on these networks.

STAR: WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME? NYUS: Definitely funding. There are

grants available for the same work that we’re doing but we’re not eligible for them because technically we’re not registered as a non-profit and, in order to access these funds, your organisation needs to be a nonprofit or an NGO. Another problem is that in Saint Lucia everyone wants everything for free. The way some approach us is usually, “We want to work with you; it would be good exposure to get your name out there.” Essentially they want to collaborate but do not want to pay us.

STAR: WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEAVE OUR READERS WITH? NYUS: We’re always looking to work with athletes across Saint Lucia in all sports. Our services will continue to be at no cost to them as our main goal is to ensure that they get as much as possible from their skills. We already have athletes from Saint Lucia currently in university on full and partial scholarships and people like Caniggia Elva who plays for Wurzburger Kickers in Germany, because they use the God-given talent that they have to get to that level. A lot of athletes say they don’t know about the process to get to the next stage so we’re always willing to assist them. As long as we have the resources available, we’re always open to speaking to anyone. To contact Sporte Avis visit its Facebook page at facebook.com/sporteavis, the website sporteavis.com or call (758) 728 0259.

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