The Tribune

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce (BCCEC) is hosting a trade mission from the Washington DC Chamber of Commerce on a week-long visit that begins today.

The mission, which will conclude its trip to The Bahamas on Friday, also includes members from Chambers of Commerce in New York, Boston, Maryland, Virginia, Atlanta and Miami.

Jeffrey Beckles, the BCCEC’s chief executive, said the mission represented one of the Chamber’s commitments to the private sector in terms of increasing connectivity between local businesses and other jurisdictions in a bid to expand commercial opportunities.

“We have been working with the office of Ambassador Sidney Collie and our colleagues from the Ministry of Financial Services and Trade Industry to make this and other missions possible,” Mr Beckles said.

“We have more than 65 local businesses already signed up to participate in the presentations on Tuesday beginning at 11am at the British Colonial Hilton, and the B2B (business-to-business) meetings are to be held right after. The group will also conduct tours at various sights in the city, including historic sights, the Arawak Port, Cable Bahamas, Baha Mar and the Fusion Super plex facilities.”

The sectors represented by the visiting American Chambers include but are not limited to financial services; Fintech (financial) technology; energy; sports and entertainment; stem cell research; aviation; technology; gaming; hospitality; logistics; shipping; and real estate development.

The Chamber, meanwhile, announced that it is preparing to lead its own missions to several upcoming events. These include the International Franchise Expo, from May 30 to June 1 at the Javits Centre in New York, and the US-Caribbean Business Conference in from June 5-6.

Persons interested in participating can register at www.ifeinfo.com for the New York Franchise Show, and call the Chamber’s offices to register for the US-Caribbean Business Conference.

The Chamber’s other trade missions for this year will include Cuba, China, Haiti, Costa Rica and Expo 2020.

Its partners and sponsors for this year’s visit include Arawak Port Development, Commonwealth Bank, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Aliv, Cable Bahamas, the Small Business Development Center, GB Development Company, Kalik and McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes.