Government Considers Business Barbados Bill 2024 to Enhance Business Ease in Barbados

Government on the verge of taking a major step towards fulfilling its promise to significantly improve the ease of doing business.

Seven months after Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Mia Amor Mottley announced the establishment of the state-owned Business Barbados to anchor all business facilitation services in a single space, legislators are preparing to consider laws to make this a reality.

The proposed Business Barbados Bill, 2024 is on Parliament’s Order Paper for debate by the House of Assembly, after which it is expected to proceed to the Senate for discussion and approval.

The bill is to “make provision for the establishment of a body corporate to be known as Business Barbados by coordinating and carrying out functions in relation to specified corporate and intellectual property enactments in order to provide efficient, effective and timely service to users; and repeal the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO) Act, Cap. 21A, and provide for related matters”.

There will be a Business Barbados board to be responsible for the policy, organisation and administration of the entity and the establishment of various divisions.

With the minister responsible for business to appoint a chairman and deputy chairman, the board is to have no more than nine directors comprised of the permanent secretary in the ministry responsible for business, a representative each from BIBA, the Association for Global Business, Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Small Business Association; and at least three, but no more than five, individuals with experience in industry, commerce or business.

The legislation states that Business Barbados will have a chief executive officer, registrar, director of intellectual property (IP), senior legal counsel, legal administrator, legal counsel and “such other staff as Business Barbados considers necessary”.

Business Barbados may also separate its operations into divisions and the organisation will be able to appoint experts approved by the minister.

The Government agency will also have an advisory committee on Intellectual Property to advise the board on various matters including policies relating to intellectual property rights in Barbados. This board will have 13 members: permanent secretaries in the Ministries responsible for Business, Agriculture, and Innovation, Science and Technology; director of IP; National Cultural Foundation CEO; Export Barbados CEO; Solicitor General; Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Inc. CEO; Barbados Museum and Historical Society