Government officials from Belize and private sector representatives will meet in February to discuss a new Commonwealth strategy to improve the country’s business services sector.
Government officials from Belize and private sector representatives will meet in February to discuss a new Commonwealth strategy to improve the country’s business services sector.
The meeting, which will take place on 17 February in Belize City, will be an opportunity to examine the benefits of increasing the country’s business services and identify priorities for policy and institutional reform. The strategy was developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service.
Businesses services cover a wide range of activities including accounting, data processing, IT-related services and telecommunications. Governments and businesses around the world outsource a proportion of these services to make efficiency gains or as part of a wider corporate strategy.
Paulo Kautoke, the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Director of Trade said: “Small states like Belize face enormous challenges in building a competitive, private sector-led economy, and yet this is essential for job creation and raising living standards. Business services employ a significant number of young men and women, and can spur innovation.”
“The Business Summit taking place in February is a valuable opportunity for the creation of a common vision and platform to develop business services in Belize,” he added.
The global business services outsourcing industry is expanding in the Latin America and Caribbean region and accounts for 9% of all foreign investment in business outsourcing. More companies in large markets, such as the United States, are opting to outsource non-core business activities to countries close by that can offer services at a lower cost, creating opportunity for Belize and other countries in the region.