24 February

Aspirational 100-Million CARICOM Fund Announced

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Feb. 24, 2024

(Photo: Instagram @sygnusgroup)

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Feb. 24, 2024: An aspirational USD 100 million CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) has been launched in Barbados, with Jamaican-owned company, Sygnus Capital, announced as the fund raiser and manager. So far, the fund has only raised US 15 million of its 100 million goal.

The fund’s aim is to be a finance vehicle focused on climate resilience and economic sustainability. The CARICOM Resilience Fund has been under design and development since January 2023, with support from USAID. The Fund will make investments in resilience-focused small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and critical infrastructure projects through flexible debt and equity investments. It will target six key sectors: renewable energy, clean transport, blue economy, sustainable agriculture, ICT, and financial services. The CDF is helping launch the fundraising as an anchor investor by contributing $15 million and technical assistance to help foster meaningful collaboration with the private sector.

Rodinald Soomer, CEO of the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF), noted that the fund’s aim is “to help operationalize the CARICOM Resilience Fund, I am happy to announce that the CDF has appointed Sygnus Capital as Fund Manager. It was very important for us to appoint a manager from this region, as a fund of this nature must be built around solutions that are sensitive and tailored to the needs of our community, taking into consideration our geography, socio-economic dynamics and cultural and political nuances.”

Sygnus Capital will partner with the Rocky Mountain Institute Island Energy Programme to source and evaluate energy and climate projects in the region.

Berisford Grey, President and CEO of Sygnus Capital noted, “Shaping a more resilient and sustainable future for the Caribbean through strategic investments in critical sectors is at the core of Sygnus’ mission. We are honoured to have been entrusted as the fund manager for the CARICOM Resilience Fund (CRF), a groundbreaking initiative that aligns seamlessly with our commitment to fostering regional development.”

Describing the fund as a vital facility, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley during her keynote address explained, “We will now go to heads of Government and to the broader region to encourage others to invest in this vital facility that is being established to help finance adaptation and mitigation projects in the eastern and southern Caribbean, and hopefully there will be interest in the entire Caribbean. Because if we do not have multiple sources of funding up to scale, we simply will not meet the race to be viable, insurable and liveable.”