Caribbean Bank Urges Investment in Women's Economic Equality
Daniel Best of the Caribbean Development Bank called on Commonwealth governments and investors to finance women's economic equality.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Women’s Issues
Live Poll
Do you think local banks and institutions fairly support women-owned businesses in your area?
Daniel Best, president of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank, urged Commonwealth governments and investors to finance women's economic equality while addressing a Commonwealth Women's Forum session. He pointed to the bank's SheTrades Caribbean Hub, which has built a community of more than 3,000 women entrepreneurs in three years.
Why it matters
Global conflict, climate hazards and rising living costs are converging on women's businesses, households and communities. The call frames women's entrepreneurship as a financing priority across Commonwealth member economies.
The SheTrades Caribbean Hub, a partnership with the International Trade Centre, reports more than 3,000 women entrepreneurs across 19 Borrowing Member Countries. The UK Trade Mission generated almost half a million United States dollars in immediate trade, though the report does not say how that figure is measured against prior missions.
The players
Daniel Best
Daniel Best is president of the Caribbean Development Bank, a Barbados-based regional lender that finances development across its Borrowing Member Countries.
Caribbean Development Bank
The Caribbean Development Bank is a regional multilateral development bank headquartered in Barbados that provides loans and technical assistance to Caribbean economies.
International Trade Centre
The International Trade Centre is a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations that helps small businesses in developing economies compete in international markets.
The details
Best said CDB is using partnerships and innovative finance to expand lending capacity and channel liquidity to small businesses through local institutions. The bank is also opening procurement and global value chains to women-led firms, with the UK Trade Mission connecting entrepreneurs with buyers and distributors.
Timeline
Best addressed the Commonwealth Women's Forum session on November 3, 2026.
The SheTrades Caribbean Hub built its community of more than 3,000 women entrepreneurs in three years.
Culture Shift
The SheTrades Caribbean Hub extends the International Trade Centre's SheTrades initiative into a regional development bank partnership, reflecting a broader shift toward treating women-owned small firms as financing priorities. Its community-building model mirrors earlier SheTrades country hubs but applies it across 19 Caribbean borrowing countries.
Women entrepreneurs across Caribbean member countries may gain access to buyers, distributors and credit through CDB-channeled liquidity and the SheTrades network. Those seeking trade connections can track the Hub's programming as CDB expands lending through local institutions.
The takeaway
Access to finance and buyers is the bottleneck for many women-led businesses, and regional lenders are beginning to address both at once. Entrepreneurs in member countries can pursue partnerships through local institutions to access expanded credit lines.
Further reading
For more on the broader fight for gender equity in business, see Women's Issues.
Source note: This article includes information reported by CANANews.
Live Poll
Do you think local banks and institutions fairly support women-owned businesses in your area?
