December 2016 | Business View Caribbean

38 39 The Ministry of Industry, International Business, Commerce, and Small Business Development MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY - BARBADOS ENCOURAGING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT H istorically, the economy of Barbados was dependent on agriculture –pri- marily sugar cane production - with as much as 60 percent of GDP (Gross Do- mestic Product) attributed to the sugar industry in the mid-1960s. Barbados gained its independence from Great Britain in 1966, and, since that time, successive national governments have developed a more diversified economy in order to facilitate the country’s sustainable development. Today, the four main foreign exchange earning sectors are tourism, international business ser- vices, manufacturing, and agriculture. The other sectors contributing to GDP include transporta- tion, storage and communications, construction, manufacturing, electricity, gas and water, non-sug- ar agriculture, mining and quarrying, and sugar. The Ministry of Industry, International Business, Commerce, and Small Business Development was created to encourage economic development and the improvement of the quality of life of the people of Barbados. According to its current Minis- ter, The Honorable Donville O. Inniss, the Ministry covers all matters relating to industry and gener- al business development, entrepreneurship, the protection of consumers, and the stimulation of foreign investment. “The Ministry sets the policy in the areas that it covers,” says Inniss. “We’re respon- sible for getting any legislation done, and we’re also responsible, in part, for some of the financing that takes place in the country.We have several BARBADOS