DEXIA: A Different Approach
by Neal Nixon
 |
The success of any nation lies in its
ability to transform itself into an export based hub. It will be necessary that
efforts from every organization, thus related, reflect a strong, well informed
and well prepared marketing army. We cannot stand supinely on our backs hugging
the delusive phantom of hope while we seem to be navigated, that way, or by
lack of force, the other way, to some irreversible waters of crisis. We are,
fellow compatriots, already at the edge of the precipice. |
|
We must be ready for when the markets are identified, when the product
is in demand, and when the channels of opportunities are opened.
Anything less than being ready will not be the fault of global competitive
geography, but rather the ineptitude of those in position (regardless of
measure) to make a change.
New opinions are always suspect and usually opposed; however, I beg the
unprejudiced attention of my reader on some thoughts respecting the Dominica
Export Import Agency (DEXIA) and how it can assist in this wise departure from
"business as usual."
TRADE OFFICES
Every successful country has trade offices in other countries from which
there are large prospective buyers. The functions of these trade offices
include the gathering of intelligence on foreign markets, conducting research
regarding demand, distribution, wholesaling, channeling, warehousing, different
methods of payment, shipping, tariffs, and the like.
I advance
that we establish trade offices in the Unites States, Guadeloupe and St.
Martin, with others to follow as demand dictates. To reduce expenses in this
process, the National Development Corporation office in New York can serve as
the Dominica Trade Office (DEXIA Trade Office) as well.
Resources shared between, and capabilities and core competencies
transferred across the trade office and the tourism office will give rise to
added synergy and a more improved presentation of Dominica.
Moreover, there are many resourceful Dominicans and organizations in the
United States who have expressed a keen interest in helping (gratis) in this
endeavor.
Some of the organizations are Dominica Academy of Arts and Sciences
(DAAS), Dominican American Relief and Development Association (DARDA), Examples
of Dominicans in the US (EXODUS), the Dominica Association of Washington, DC
(DAWDC), and the Roosevelt Douglas Foundation (RDF).
Many of these organizations have already hosted Dominican trade shows in
New and Washington, DC, to name a few cities with some success. However, in
every instance it was not part of a systematic plan or on the initiative of
DEXIA.
Many Dominicans are made aware
of Dominican products via my BUY DOMINICA e-mail newsletter. Several have made
purchases of Dominican products as a result or gained marketing intelligence.
In the information age such access to data is key. I commit, herein, to
partner with DEXIA in ensuring a dynamic marketing link via e-mail to the
Diaspora.
Creating a serious and meaningful
relationship with the French Caribbean is something long overdue. We have been
talking about this possibility for decades. Establishing trade offices in
Guadeloupe and St. Martin will lay the foundation for the beginning of a
special intimacy between Dominica and its French neighbors.
The prohibition placed on Dominican hucksters in Guadeloupe and St.
Martin effective October this year testifies to the urgency of the
establishment of trade offices in these Islands.
It may not be expensive, if we
use Dominicans already in place and arrange payment for their services by a
tracking system, which ties productivity in marketing to fees paid. In essence
a "Fee via Performance" model which encourages the Dominican Diaspora so chosen to get busy.
EXPORT BANK
The United States, Singapore and
other successful countries have acquired many markets for their products
through the furnishing of intelligence and finance through their respective
export banks.
An export bank controlled by a Marketing Task Force, armed with a robust
marketing program can serve Dominica well. The bank would be responsible for
financing companies that are interested in selling their products overseas, and
will provide the support and the means of channeling their products to the
demand destinations.
BUY DOMINICA
I must say that the buy local campaign
of DEXIA is a noble one. We need to initiate more programs like this in
Dominica. However, it is important to take the campaign to a buy-Dominica
level. The buy-local campaign only solicit Dominicans to buy local products,
but the buy-Dominica campaign is an initiative to create a global awareness of
Dominica's products and to seek, preserve and establish markets for Dominican
producers.
It would be the responsibility of
those in charge of the Buy Dominica program to coordinate efforts with the
Export Bank, trade offices, Dominican organizations, Ministry of trade,
Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture. The Buy Dominican team can
also work with the foreign embassies to ensure that Dominican producers have
information regarding every possible foreign business directory. China has a
cheap and abundant supply of raw material, so the Chinese embassy would be the
first that we should approach.
In addition, this team can be
commissioned to guarantee that there is a Dominican manufactured product or raw
material competing with a foreign substitute in every store/shop shelf and that
Dominican products are readily available and accessible at all times.
No program of that degree of
importance can be successful without a training program. The Buy Dominica team
would be responsible for educating the masses in general and the business
community in particular on packaging, branding, shipping, product care, product
preservation techniques and the like.
Marketing legislation and a quality control framework related to
international trade standards would be established and strongly enforced to
create and to maintain a good reputation for Dominica's products.
This law, in a great portion, will determine our longevity in markets
and will be used as a benchmark for all export endeavors.
I hope these suggestions find
receptivity at the highest levels of Dominica's Government, the AID Bank and
DEXIA. However, the Diaspora Dominican or organization should seize the
initiative where possible and identify local export businesses and partner with
them to offer such marketing services, or access to store shelves in their
respective cities in the USA, Canada, the UK or the French/Dutch Caribbean
territories. No one can develop Dominica for us, but us. DEXIA can help that
development process along where it marches along the path suggested.
Nicolo Syllacio, a writer who
traveled with Columbus when they came across Dominica on Sunday November 03,
1493 in the faint light of dawn wrote. “Dominica is remarkable for the beauty
of its mountains and the amenity of its verdure, and must be seen to be
believed.” She stands surrounded by her luscious green mountains, with her
crystal clear fresh waterfalls pouring onto her virgin lands. 
Fall 2001, and the world faces a war on terrorism, creeping recession
and the continued diminution in bargaining power of the people of the
developing world.
It’s the moment
you have waited for. Your bags are packed and your expectations are high. You
are finally returning home to your island. But more than simply a return home
to enjoy the sharp, clean air, its warm and picturesque environment, you are
returning with a stronger sense of purpose. You are returning to confidently
contribute to your island’s development.
