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Guyana Is Leaving Millions On The Table With Exxon While It Searches For A Company To Salvage The MV Barima

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By NAN Business Editor, News Americas

News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Mon. Aug. 3, 2026: As Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department scrambles to find a qualified contractor to pull the MV Barima from the ocean floor, the government is sitting on a separate, far larger unresolved account: millions of dollars in disputed ExxonMobil cost-oil audits that the International Monetary Fund says Guyana needs to stop letting drag on.

The contrast is hard to ignore. On one hand, a government asking marine salvage companies to submit proposals limited to ten pages, on a deadline more than three weeks out, just to recover a ferry that killed at least 73 people and left 30 more missing and presumed dead. On the other, a government that has allowed a years-long dispute over Exxon’s own cost accounting to sit unresolved, even as the IMF’s latest Article IV mission all but pleaded with Guyanese officials to move faster.

The Exxon money still on the table

An audit conducted by IHS Markit, covering the period 1999 to 2017, found $214.4 million in Exxon-claimed costs that were either ineligible for cost recovery or lacked adequate supporting documentation. A second audit, covering a later period and carried out by SGS in partnership with Martindale Consultants and Guyanese firms Ramdihal and Haynes, Eclisar Financial and Vitality Accounting and Consultancy, remains under review.

In its Staff Concluding Statement released Friday, the IMF urged Guyana to resolve both disputes “in a timely manner,” including through arbitration where necessary, citing “important fiscal and governance implications.” The Fund also called on Guyana to keep strengthening its capacity to audit its own rapidly expanding oil and gas sector, and separately pushed for stronger public procurement practices as government spending continues to climb.

That is real money potentially owed to a country that just weeks ago couldn’t get a $12.7 million replacement ferry into service after three years, and is now asking private companies to volunteer for the job of recovering the vessel that killed dozens because the government’s own agencies weren’t positioned to do it themselves.

The salvage search, under pressure

MARAD’s Expression of Interest notice, issued Saturday, came only after intensifying pressure: swelling protests from civil society activists, University of Guyana students, and the political opposition, following the swearing-in of the five-member international Commission of Inquiry. Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed credited the reversal directly to public pressure. “The Government has finally buckled under the pressure of the people,” he said. “This is a victory for every citizen who refused to remain silent.”

But Mohamed also flagged what the August 14 deadline actually means: it is only the deadline for companies to submit proposals, not for the salvage itself to begin. At that pace, he warned, the vessel may not actually be recovered until sometime in September, nearly two months after it went down.

Contractors are being asked to detail how they’ll protect forensic evidence for the Commission’s investigation while working in near-zero visibility, strong currents, and 13 to 15 meters of water, some 28 nautical miles off Guyana’s coast. French military divers who assisted in the earlier search and recovery effort had already reported zero visibility and a maze of ropes and hammocks trapped inside the sunken vessel.

The same pattern, different ledger

Whether it’s a multimillion-dollar oil dispute or a $12.7 million ferry sitting idle for three years, the through-line is the same: money and resources Guyana has access to, or is owed, not being pursued or deployed with urgency, while ordinary Guyanese, and now grieving families, pay the price of the delay. The IMF’s own language, that these audits carry “important fiscal and governance implications,” could just as easily describe the government’s handling of its own maritime infrastructure over the past three years.

NewsAmericasNow will continue tracking both the salvage operation and Guyana’s response to the IMF’s findings.

RELATED: The Guyana Ferry Disaster Is The Caribbean’s Worst Since 1970

The Caribbean AI Moment? – Trinidad Got There First. Who’s Next And Who Pays For It?

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By News Americas Business Editor

News Americas, MIAMI, FL, Sun. July 26, 2026: the region’s first stop. The question the rest of the Caribbean should be asking isn’t whether this was a good deal for Trinidad – it’s what it will take for the next island to be next, and who finances the gap between “signed MOU” and “operational campus” in the Caribbean AI race.

That gap is the real story. Trinidad and Tobago has signed a trio of agreements with U.S. companies that could bring more than US$5 billion in investment to the twin-island republic – the first data center agreements of their kind between major U.S. technology and services firms and any Caribbean nation. But the deals also expose, in stark numbers, exactly what a small island grid and water system look like when asked to absorb hyperscale AI infrastructure: a 2.4-gigawatt national generation capacity being asked to accommodate up to 450 additional megawatts of demand, in a country where parts of the population already receive water on a rationed schedule.

The Memoranda of Understanding, signed July 11 under Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s administration, set the framework for two large-scale data center projects and the revival of a dormant steel plant. Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister Sean Sobers signed on the government’s behalf, with officials crediting U.S. government facilitation for bringing the parties together.

The Deals

Professional services giant Ernst & Young signed on to develop a 300-megawatt data center using its Energy to Intelligence platform, partnering with third parties on construction. A second agreement with Hummingbird AI Holdings, a Florida-based firm led by Massy Holdings non-executive director Marc-Kwesi Farrell, outlines a 150-megawatt AI infrastructure and data center campus, with room to scale up to 500 megawatts. First operations are targeted for early 2028, pending due diligence.

A third MOU with Pinnacle Steel and Vanadium Corporation covers recommissioning the iron and steel plant at Point Lisas — a facility that, if fully developed, officials say could eventually supply up to half of U.S. demand for vanadium, a metal used in aerospace and defense manufacturing.

Combined, the government projects the three initiatives could generate more than 5,000 jobs, spanning construction, engineering, cybersecurity and facility operations.

A structurally different kind of capital

Caribbean economies are used to two kinds of foreign capital: tourism development and commodity extraction. AI infrastructure is a third category entirely – capital-intensive, long-horizon, and dependent on power and connectivity rather than beaches or barrels. That’s precisely why it pulls in adjacent investment rather than sitting in isolation: cloud providers, network operators, specialized contractors, and – critically – whoever finances the grid and water upgrades a hyperscale campus requires before it can switch on.

The infrastructure gap is the opportunity

The agreements are non-binding frameworks, not final investment decisions – each project still faces technical, commercial, and regulatory due diligence before ground is broken. And the questions being raised locally are the right ones. Data centers, particularly AI-focused facilities, are heavy consumers of both electricity and water for cooling. Trinidad and Tobago’s total generation capacity sits at roughly 2.4 gigawatts, and large parts of the country already operate on scheduled water supply, with some homes relying on tanks because taps run as rarely as once a week. A recent United Nations University report estimates data centers could account for close to 3% of global electricity use by 2030 – a figure that sharpens exactly what a 300-to-500-megawatt buildout would demand of a grid and water system already under strain.

That gap – between the capital arriving for the data centers and the capital still needed for the power and water infrastructure underneath them – is where the next wave of Caribbean deal flow sits. It’s a financing conversation as much as a construction one.

Who’s next

Whether or not these specific projects reach financial close, they signal something every Caribbean government, investment promotion agency, and developer should be watching closely: global AI infrastructure capital has started actively scouting the region, and Trinidad moved first. The islands and territories positioning themselves now – with grid capacity, water resilience plans, and investment-ready proposals in hand – are the ones likely to catch the next wave of this capital, rather than watching it pass them by.

Invest Caribbean and AI Capital Exchange (AICE) work with pre-qualified borrowers – governments, developers and investors – pursuing exactly this kind of energy, water and infrastructure financing across the region. If the Caribbean’s AI infrastructure moment is one your project or government wants in on, start with a Capital Readiness Check.

RELATED: Energy Crisis – Why Is The Caribbean Still Importing Energy?

Caribbean Wages 2026: Guyana And Suriname’s Oil Boom vs. Some Of The Region’s Lowest Pay

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By NAN BUSINESS EDITOR | NewsAmericasNow.com

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. July 24, 2026: Where do Caribbean wages stand in 2026, amid rising costs of living? News Americas decided to investigate – especially as Guyana and Suriname are, by nearly every measure, becoming the Caribbean’s next oil powerhouses.

Guyana is already pumping roughly 650,000 barrels of oil a day from ExxonMobil’s offshore Stabroek Block – a resource base exceeding 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent that has made it the fastest-growing economy on earth. Suriname is not far behind: TotalEnergies and partners committed $10.5 billion to the GranMorgu project in October 2024, targeting first oil by 2028 from reserves estimated at more than 750 million barrels.

Both governments are moving fast to show the wealth on the ground – new roads, bridges and infrastructure projects are underway or planned across both countries, funded in large part by oil revenue and the borrowing power it unlocks.

And yet, according to wage data compiled by wage.is and analyzed by NewsAmericasnow, Guyana and Suriname have the two lowest statutory minimum wages anywhere in the Caribbean: Suriname at $1.40 an hour, and Guyana at $1.66 an hour – lower than many other territory in the region, including nations with no oil at all.

To be clear, this is about the wage floor, not the whole economy. Oil-sector engineers, executives and skilled professionals in both countries earn far more than minimum wage, and their earnings aren’t reflected in this comparison. What the numbers do show is that the region’s lowest-paid workers – the people cleaning, driving, serving and laboring at the base of these economies – are earning less than their counterparts anywhere else in the Caribbean, even as their countries sit on some of the most valuable oil reserves in the hemisphere.

At the very bottom of the regional table sit Cuba and Haiti – but for entirely different reasons than Guyana and Suriname. Cuba’s minimum wage, tied to a peso in free fall against the US dollar, converts to just $0.03–0.05 an hour even after a 53 percent nominal increase took effect July 1. Haiti’s $0.34–0.74 an hour reflects a different crisis altogether: a state contending with entrenched gang violence and currency instability rather than an oil boom. Neither nation’s low wages can be attributed to energy wealth – they simply mark the floor against which the rest of the region, including Guyana and Suriname, can be measured.

The Region’s Full Wage Picture

Across 24 Caribbean territories, minimum wages range from just above zero to nearly $14 an hour:

Trinidad and Tobago – the Caribbean’s longest-established oil and gas producer, with decades of hydrocarbon revenue behind it – sits at $3.00 an hour, still among the lower tier of the region despite generations of energy wealth. It is a pattern worth noting: none of CARICOM’s three oil and gas producers rank in the top half of the region’s wage table.

Building Fast, Paying Slow

Guyana’s government has moved aggressively to convert oil revenue into visible infrastructure – new highways, bridges and energy projects have become a hallmark of President Irfaan Ali’s administration, even as this outlet has previously reported on questions surrounding a private agricultural estate built with resources whose origin the president says predates his time in office. Suriname’s Staatsolie has likewise signaled, through its stake in GranMorgu, that oil development will bring “significant positive economic spin-off through the deployment of local labor and the procurement of goods and services.”

Neither country’s minimum wage has kept pace with that infrastructure push. Guyana’s statutory minimum wage of $1.66 an hour translates to roughly $285 a month – a figure that has drawn scrutiny as the country’s GDP has grown at rates unmatched almost anywhere in the world. Suriname’s $1.40 an hour, at roughly $280 a month, is the lowest in the entire Caribbean, even as the country prepares to become a major offshore oil producer within two years.

A Regional Pattern Worth Watching

None of this proves oil wealth causes low wages – Suriname, in particular, has not yet begun producing offshore oil, so its current minimum wage predates any revenue from GranMorgu entirely. What the data does show is a consistent gap: the three CARICOM nations most associated with oil and gas – Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago – all sit below the regional median for minimum wage, while smaller, non-oil territories like Barbados, the Cayman Islands and the French collectivities of Saint Martin and Saint Barths pay their lowest earners substantially more.

As both Guyana and Suriname race to build the physical infrastructure of their oil futures – the roads, the bridges, the ports – the question their lowest-paid workers are left asking is a simple one: when does the wage floor catch up to the boom?

Diversifying beyond oil? AICE works with borrowers building the non-extractive economy – from agro-processing to manufacturing. Start your Capital Readiness Check.

Trump’s New Tariffs Hit These Four Caribbean Countries

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By NAN Business Editor, NewsAmericas Now

News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Fri. July 24, 2026: US President Trump is imposing new tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners, including four Caribbean nations, after determining they have failed to adequately enforce bans on imports made with forced labor.

The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Guyana will face a 12.5% tariff, while Trinidad and Tobago will face a 10% tariff, under action U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced Thursday. The new tariffs apply to 60 economies in total, accounting for 99% of U.S. imports, and take effect as temporary 10% worldwide tariffs Trump had imposed under a separate authority expire at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” Greer said in a statement. “Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere.”

Ironically, all four countries have signed on to Trump’s Shield of the Americas, and Trinidad and Tobago in particular has been front and center in its support of the US amid angst with other CARICOM nations. Guyana last week saw the US State Department host an investment forum to push American businesses to invest there.

Why these tariffs, and why now

The administration is invoking Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a more durable legal authority than the emergency powers Trump previously used to justify sweeping global tariffs. The Supreme Court struck down those earlier tariffs earlier this year, ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize them and forcing the administration to refund duties already collected. Trump had then relied on temporary Section 122 tariffs, which are capped at 150 days by law and expire Friday. Section 301, by contrast, allows the president to impose tariffs against countries found to engage in “unjustifiable,” “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” trade practices, and has previously survived legal challenges when used against China.

The forced labor investigation began in March, when USTR opened probes into 60 economies’ enforcement of import bans on goods made with forced labor. Following two rounds of public hearings and more than 2,100 public comments, USTR determined 54 of those economies, including all four Caribbean nations named, have failed to impose and effectively enforce such a ban. A separate group of six economies, including Canada, Mexico and the European Union, were found to have failed to effectively enforce a ban they do have in place.

Oil, gas, fertilizer and goods qualifying for duty-free status under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement are exempt from the new tariffs.

What it means for the Caribbean

The tariffs add a new layer of economic pressure on four Caribbean economies already navigating a complex relationship with Washington on trade, security and investment. Guyana in particular has been the subject of an intensifying US commercial courtship in recent months, with American officials publicly pushing to position US companies to lead the country’s energy and infrastructure sectors even as this new tariff adds friction to its broader trade relationship with Washington.

Human rights advocates offered mixed reactions to the broader tariff action. Martina Vandenberg, founder and president of the Human Trafficking Legal Center, said import bans can be “a potentially effective tool in combating forced labor across the globe,” but urged a phased approach so countries have time to build enforcement mechanisms, warning that without it, “the import bans will be thin slips of paper with no enforcement.” Isabelle Glimcher, a senior research scientist for global labor at the NYU Stern Center for Human Rights, noted the tariffs are structured around what countries import rather than what they produce domestically, though she said the threat of tariffs has already pushed some countries to strengthen their own forced labor import policies.

Tariffs are ultimately paid by the US companies importing the goods, costs that are often passed on to American consumers, and the administration is rolling out the new levies just months ahead of the November midterm elections.

NewsAmericasNow will continue tracking how the new tariffs affect trade between the US and the Caribbean.

Guyana – US Pushes To Lead Guyana’s Energy Future As Country’s Aging Ferry Fleet Turns Deadly

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By NAN Business Editor, NewsAmericas Now

News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Thurs, July 23, 2026: The United States is positioning American companies to dominate Guyana’s energy and infrastructure sectors as the South American nation’s oil-fueled economy continues its rapid expansion, according to a State Department readout of a US-Guyana investment forum held last Thursday in Washington – a push that lands even as ordinary Guyanese confront the human cost of decades of underinvestment closer to home.

Just two days after the forum wrapped, the 87-year-old ferry MV Barima capsized off Guyana’s coast. The confirmed death toll has since risen to 65, with 76 rescued out of the 179 people the government says were aboard, leaving roughly 38 people still unaccounted for as search and recovery operations continue. Of the bodies recovered, 44 have been positively identified by relatives, and 23 have been released to their families for funeral rites and burial. The government has deployed 19 vessels and three aircraft to the search, and technical teams are now assessing how to right the capsized vessel, plan to use marine salvage airbags to restore its buoyancy before towing it closer to shore so recovery operations can continue under safer conditions.

A ferry carrying 179 passengers capsized off the coast of Guyana with authorities saying 76 people had been rescued so far, with 63 confirmed dead, in Guyana, on July 19, 2026. (Photo by Guyana Prime Minister’s Office / Handout /Anadolu via Getty Images)

The disaster has renewed scrutiny of a domestic transportation system that has been patched rather than modernized for years, even as billions in oil revenue have flowed through the country and Washington courts American businesses to lead its energy and infrastructure future. The juxtaposition has been hard for many Guyanese to ignore this week: a government being asked to open its most valuable sector further to foreign capital, while the vessels its own citizens depend on to reach hinterland and Indigenous communities remain decades old.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau addressed the US-Guyana Investment Enabling Forum, co-hosted with the Business Council for International Understanding at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, bringing together senior US and Guyanese officials alongside private-sector leaders. According to the State Department’s media note, the forum focused on strengthening investor confidence and expanding US commercial engagement in Guyana’s business environment, energy sector and infrastructure.

The State Department described commercial diplomacy as “a core element of American foreign policy,” stating that “the United States is committed to ensuring that where American companies invest, the U.S. Government stands behind them,” including cutting red tape and expanding access to financing. The department said Washington is “positioning American businesses to lead in energy, infrastructure, and other sectors central to” Guyana’s growth.

Part of a months-long push

Thursday’s forum builds on a series of high-level engagements between Washington and Georgetown dating back at least to early June, when Guyana’s Foreign Minister Hugh Todd and Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud met in Washington with Landau, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and Acting Assistant Secretary of War for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs Joseph Humire. Those talks covered energy security, border security cooperation, irregular migration, and combating illicit trafficking, alongside the commercial agenda.

In each of these engagements, US officials have paired the investment push with public reaffirmations of Guyana’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity” – language that has taken on added significance given Guyana’s long-running border dispute with Venezuela over the oil-rich Essequibo region.

Why it matters

The push for a larger American commercial footprint in Guyana’s energy sector comes as questions have already emerged over how the country’s oil wealth is being tracked. NewsAmericasNow previously reported on a $6.7 billion discrepancy between the Bank of Guyana’s reported oil revenue and the amount ExxonMobil says it has recovered from its cost bank – a gap that, applied to Guyana’s current 14.5% revenue share, could represent close to $1 billion the country may never have received.

With Guyana holding one of the fastest-growing oil economies in the world and a population of fewer than one million people, the scale of foreign investment now being actively courted – and which companies end up leading the sectors that will define the country’s economic future – carries outsized weight for ordinary Guyanese. The MV Barima disaster is a stark reminder of what that weight looks like on the ground: a nation courting billions in foreign energy investment while a domestic ferry system serving its most remote communities has gone without a purpose-built replacement for decades. Prime Minister Phillips said this week that the government will finance funeral and burial expenses and provide immediate assistance to affected families, while any decision on compensation will wait for the findings of an independent Commission of Inquiry. “The focus now is not on compensation,” Phillips said. “The focus is on recovering bodies, financing the burial and funeral rites, and providing whatever assistance the families need now.”

NewsAmericasNow will continue tracking US-Guyana engagement as the investment relationship develops.

RELATED: Guyana: The MV Barima Tragedy Puts The Spotlight On A Decades-Old Issue – An Aging Ferry Fleet

French Guiana is about to get its first direct digital link to Europe

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NEWS Americas, DUBLIN, Ireland, July 15, 2026: EllaLink and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) hosted a delegation from SPLANG, the Government of Maranhão (Brazil) and the international financial institutions of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) across two of ASN’s facilities: the Les Ulis headquarters, for technology demonstrations; and the Calais factory, to witness the loading of the Lum@link cable onto the cable ship. The CS Île d’Yeu has now set sail for Cayenne, French Guiana, to begin the installation campaign that will be completed over the summer, with the Lum@link system on track to be ready for service by the end of 2026.

This marks a critical milestone in the creation of the first direct submarine connection between French Guiana and continental Europe. The 2,100 km extension will connect the new cable landing station of Cayenne to the existing EllaLink trunk system off the coast of Fortaleza, establishing direct optical connections from Cayenne to Sines (Portugal) and Fortaleza (Brazil).

The delegation was joined by Leandro da Silva Costa, President of the State Information Technology Agency, and Anderson da Silva Serra, Director of Technological Infrastructure and Connectivity from ATI/MA, representing the Government of the State of Maranhão, Brazil. They witnessed the loading of the two branching units that will enable future connectivity to the north of Brazil, one serving São Luís (Maranhão) and one serving Salinópolis (Pará).

Lum@link is designed to open the way for direct links between Cayenne, Fortaleza and the northern Brazilian states, including Maranhão (São Luís) and Pará (Salinópolis), reinforcing French Guiana’s role as a crossroads between the Caribbean, Brazil and Europe. For both SPLANG and the State of Maranhão, the visit confirmed that EllaLink will equip the region with critical infrastructure that is essential to its economy.

The SPLANG, AFD, IDB, Government of Maranhão delegations with EllaLink during the visit to ASN facilities in Les Ulis

The European Commission supports the project with a €29.9 million grant from the CEF Digital programme, managed by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). The Lum@link system is also backed by an investment from the Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane (CTG) and financial support from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

For the future Brazilian branches, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and AFD are providing financing to the states of Pará and Maranhão.

Marie-Lucienne Rattier, President of SPLANG, next to a repeater that will be part of the Lum@link system and ready to ship to Cayenne, French Guiana.

Marie-Lucienne Rattier, President of SPLANG, said: “To see the Lum@link cable loaded and on its way to Cayenne is a deeply significant moment for French Guiana. With the lay now under way and the system on track to enter service by the end of 2026, we are securing our international connectivity for the long term, ensuring our digital sovereignty and catalysing the economic and social development of our territory.”

Philippe Dumont, CEO at EllaLink, added: “Watching the Lum@link cable being loaded in Calais and the Île d’Yeu setting sail for Cayenne to begin the lay is a proud moment for the entire EllaLink team. After years of planning, engineering and construction, marine installation is now under way. We expect to complete the lay over the summer, and the system is on track to be ready for service by the end of 2026, delivering a direct, sovereign route between French Guiana, Brazil and continental Europe. We are honoured to share this milestone with SPLANG, the Government of Maranhão and the partners who have made it possible.”

About SPLANG

The Société Publique Locale pour l’Aménagement Numérique de la Guyane (SPLANG) (local public company for the digital development of French Guiana) is owned by the CTG (Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane) and other local authorities and municipalities of French Guiana. It is the local authorities’ operational arm for the digital development of French Guiana. Created in 2014, SPLANG promotes the deployment of infrastructure operated by its shareholders (such as the fibre network and the satellite network in French Guiana). SPLANG is involved in financing its own infrastructure such as satellite relays, FTTO networks or international connectivity, supports and coordinates the development of digital uses, and acts as a public service operator in situations where private initiative is lacking.

For more information, visit: https://www.splang.fr/

About EllaLink

EllaLink is an optic fibre submarine cable system offering secure high-capacity connectivity on a unique low-latency transatlantic route serving the growing needs of the Latin American and European markets. The EllaLink network directly connects Brazil and Europe, linking the major hubs of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza with Lisbon, Madrid and Marseille. The EllaLink System has been built with state-of-the-art coherent technology, initially offering 100Tbps of transatlantic capacity over four direct fibre pairs between Europe and Brazil. EllaLink is a privately funded and independent company committed to providing products and services on a Carrier-Neutral and Open-Access basis. Marguerite, a pan-European infrastructure investor active in the renewables, energy, transport and digital transformation sectors, is the main shareholder of EllaLink.

For more information, visit: https://ella.link

RELATED: Guyana Oil Revenue In 2025 Was A Drop In The Bucket

For Women in Science 2026 Call for Applications Opens, Offering Two $15,000 Awards to Caribbean Women Researchers

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News Americas, SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, July 08, 2026: L’Oréal Caribe and the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean announce the opening of the 2026 call for applications for the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science program, an initiative that recognizes and supports outstanding women researchers from the region by awarding two $15,000 USD grants to advance the development of their scientific research.

The call for applications will be open from May 19 through August 14, 2026, and is intended for women scientists from the Caribbean who are pursuing doctoral studies, conducting postdoctoral research, or are in the early stages of a scientific research career within the program’s eligible STEM disciplines.

The program is part of the renowned global L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science movement, created to promote women’s participation in scientific research and help reduce the gender gaps that continue to persist in STEM fields. In the Caribbean, the initiative is carried out in collaboration with the Caribbean Academy of Sciences and the Caribbean Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

“At L’Oréal Caribe, we firmly believe that science needs the talent, creativity, and leadership of women to address the challenges of today and the future. Through For Women in Science, we seek to increase the visibility of and support women researchers who are generating knowledge and innovation with an impact on our region and the world,” said Liana Camacho, Market Vice President of L’Oréal Caribe.

Eligible candidates must conduct research in areas such as formal sciences, life and environmental sciences, materials science, engineering, and technological sciences. The awards seek to provide financial support and recognition to women who contribute to scientific advancement across different fields of knowledge and whose research helps drive solutions to some of the main challenges facing the region.

“UNESCO works to recognize and promote the talent of women in science, foster diverse perspectives, and break down the barriers that limit their professional development,” said Audrey Azoulay, General Director of UNESCO.

In its 2025 edition, the program recognized Jamaican scientists Dr. Lori-Ann Fisher and Dr. Arianne Brown Jordan for research addressing important health and environmental challenges. Dr. Fisher conducts research on genetic factors associated with liver diseases, while Dr. Brown Jordan studies the presence of bacterial diseases in water systems serving vulnerable communities. Their research highlights the impact of Caribbean women scientists in generating knowledge and solutions for the region.

Globally, women continue to face significant challenges in the scientific field. According to UNESCO data, women represent approximately one-third of researchers worldwide. Although Latin America and the Caribbean have a higher representation of women in science than the global average, significant challenges remain regarding access to funding, visibility, and leadership opportunities in scientific research.

Interested applicants can review the complete eligibility requirements and submit their applications through the For Women in Science application platform https://www.forwomeninscience.com/challenge/show/167 . The deadline to apply is August 14, 2026.

About L’Oréal Caribe

L’Oréal is recognized as the world’s leading beauty company, with a broad portfolio of brands distributed across four main divisions: Consumer Products, Professional Products, L’Oréal Luxe, and Dermatological Beauty. From its offices in Puerto Rico, L’Oréal Caribe oversees operations across 25 Caribbean islands, with the mission to create the beauty that moves the world: beauty that is inclusive, ethical, generous, and committed to social and environmental sustainability. With a portfolio of 31 international brands and ambitious sustainability goals under our L’Oréal for the Future program, we strive to offer everyone, everywhere, the best in quality, efficacy, safety, transparency, and responsibility, while celebrating beauty in all its infinite forms.

For more information, visit L’Oréal Caribe’s official website: https://www.loreal.com/en/caribe/

Energy Crisis – Why Is The Caribbean Still Importing Energy?

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By News Americas Business Editor

News Americas, MIAMI, FL, Weds. June 24, 2026: As global energy markets face renewed disruption and oil prices remain volatile, Caribbean nations are once again confronting a familiar challenge: dependence on imported energy.

From Barbados to Jamaica and across the wider CARICOM region, rising fuel costs continue to pressure consumers, businesses and governments. Recent tensions in the Middle East have highlighted just how vulnerable small island economies remain to events occurring thousands of miles away. Barbados Energy Minister Kerrie Symmonds recently warned that small island developing states are “feeling the pinch” of the latest energy crisis, noting that governments are struggling to balance rising energy costs with the need to contain inflation and protect consumers.

Yet, beyond the immediate crisis lies a larger question: Why is a region rich in solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and ocean energy resources still so dependent on imported fossil fuels?

The Caribbean’s renewable energy potential is significant. CARICOM has established a regional target of generating 47 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2027. The World Bank is supporting projects aimed at expanding solar adoption and energy efficiency, while the African Export-Import Bank has expanded its CARICOM financing mandate to $5 billion, including support for renewable energy and infrastructure projects.

The challenge is not a lack of resources. The challenge is execution. Unlike many larger economies, Caribbean nations must balance energy security, affordability and climate resilience simultaneously. Transitioning too quickly away from traditional fuels could create reliability concerns. Moving too slowly leaves the region exposed to repeated price shocks and supply disruptions.

For that reason, energy experts increasingly argue that the future is not an all-or-nothing choice between fossil fuels and renewables. Instead, the region may need a diversified energy strategy.

Barbados is pursuing one of the world’s most ambitious renewable energy agendas while continuing to explore domestic energy resources. Dominica is investing heavily in geothermal energy that could eventually reduce its dependence on imported diesel. Guyana and Suriname are emerging as major energy producers, while Trinidad and Tobago remains one of the Caribbean’s most important natural gas suppliers.

Together, these resources could form the foundation of a more resilient regional energy architecture. The deals already being signed across the region show what that diversified architecture could look like in practice. In Dominica, a 10 MW geothermal project reached financial close in September 2025 through a blended financing package arranged by the Caribbean Development Bank, with concessional capital from the Green Climate Fund helping clear bankability hurdles that had stalled Caribbean geothermal for years. Developed by a subsidiary of Ormat Technologies, the plant is expected to supply most of Dominica’s baseload demand once operational.

In The Bahamas, Renugen Pro Limited is advancing more than $40 million in hybrid energy projects across Cat Island, Long Island, and San Salvador – combining solar, battery storage, and natural gas under long-term power purchase agreements signed directly with the government. And in a sign of how seriously multinational energy companies are now treating the region, TotalEnergies expanded its partnership with AES across the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, acquiring a 50 percent stake in a combined 1.5 gigawatt portfolio of solar, wind and battery storage assets — one of the largest renewable energy commitments any global power company has made in the Caribbean to date.

Jamaica offers perhaps the clearest evidence that the economics already favor renewables. Recent power purchase agreements there have reached the US$0.09 per kilowatt-hour range for solar and US$0.12 for wind – both well below the cost of imported diesel generation – with prices expected to keep falling as more projects come online.

Yet even with these long-term contracts in place, the region’s overall numbers remain stark. According to the 2023 Energy Report Card for CARICOM member states, the region’s total installed capacity stands at roughly 5,777 megawatts – but only about 761 megawatts, or 13 percent, comes from renewable sources. Conventional fossil fuel generation still outweighs renewable capacity by nearly 74 percent across the bloc.

The model may be closer to the United Arab Emirates than many realize. The UAE did not abandon fossil fuels overnight. Instead, it used energy revenues to finance infrastructure, logistics, tourism, technology, and renewable energy investments. Caribbean energy producers now face a similar opportunity: use today’s oil and gas revenues to build tomorrow’s energy system.

The economics are increasingly compelling. As United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has noted, “There are no price spikes for sunlight and no embargoes on the wind.”

Once renewable infrastructure is built, operating costs are generally lower and more predictable than imported fossil fuels. Solar, wind, battery storage and geothermal projects can reduce long-term exposure to geopolitical events while strengthening national energy security. The remaining obstacle is capital.

Renewable energy projects often require substantial upfront investment even though they generate savings over time. For many Caribbean governments, utilities and private developers, access to affordable financing remains one of the biggest barriers to accelerating the energy transition.

That financing gap is also creating opportunity. As governments and businesses seek to reduce energy costs, improve resilience and meet climate targets, demand for renewable energy financing is expected to increase significantly across the Caribbean in the years ahead.

The region may never be powered entirely by renewable energy. It does not need to be. The larger opportunity is to become far less vulnerable to the next global energy crisis than it is today. Every major energy shock reminds the Caribbean of its dependence. The question is whether this crisis will finally become the catalyst for a more diversified, resilient and energy-secure future.

The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates the region will need roughly US$11 billion in investment by 2030 to meet its renewable targets – a figure that underscores why individual long-term contracts, however significant, remain pieces of a much larger financing puzzle rather than evidence the puzzle is solved.

Renewable Energy Financing

Developing a renewable energy project in the Caribbean? AI Capital Exchange helps project developers, utilities, infrastructure sponsors and businesses pre-qualify for solar, wind, battery storage, waste-to-energy and other renewable energy financing opportunities through its global lender network. To explore financing options, visit AI Capital Exchange and get pre-qualified today.

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87 Percent Unmet: The Hidden Financing Crisis Strangling Business Growth Across Latin America and the Caribbean

Why Caribbean and Latin American Hotel and Commercial Property Owners Should Be Refinancing Now

Why Caribbean and Latin American Hotel and Commercial Property Owners Should Be Refinancing Now

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By News Americas Business Editor

News Americas, MIAMI, FL, June 12, 2026: For hotel owners, resort developers, and commercial property operators across the Caribbean and Latin America, a costly window is closing – and most are not moving fast enough to take advantage of it. The global commercial real estate market is navigating what industry analysts are calling the 2026 debt maturity crunch. The question now is refinancing or not?

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, approximately $875 billion in commercial real estate loans – representing 17 percent of all outstanding commercial mortgages – are scheduled to mature in 2026. Some industry estimates put the figure closer to $1 trillion when accounting for loans extended from 2024 and 2025 now crowding into this year’s refinancing window.

For the hospitality sector specifically, the pressure is acute. Hotel mortgage spreads have widened to 375 basis points over comparable treasuries as of Q4 2025, according to PwC’s US Hospitality Directions report – compared to just 225 to 250 basis points for multifamily and industrial assets. That gap represents a hospitality-specific premium that is testing refinancing strategies across the sector globally, including across Caribbean and Latin American markets.

The rate shock compounds the challenge. The average interest rate on commercial real estate loans being originated today runs approximately 6.24 percent, compared to 4.76 percent on older debt now coming due – a spread of 150 basis points or more, according to Banyan Commercial Capital. For a Caribbean hotel or resort carrying $10 million in older debt, that difference represents hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional annual debt service if the refinancing window is missed.

“Owners who wait until the last minute may find themselves with far fewer options,” warned a 2025 analysis by InvestingInCRE. “Start the refinancing process nine to 12 months before maturity. Lenders are overwhelmed with applications. Waiting until 90 days out is a mistake.”

For Caribbean and Latin American property owners, the calculus is more complex – and the opportunity is greater for those who move early.

Unlike U.S.-based borrowers who can access conventional bank refinancing channels, Caribbean and Latin American hotel and commercial property owners frequently face a documentation mismatch that disqualifies them from traditional lenders – despite owning significant equity in their assets. A resort developer in the Dominican Republic who purchased beachfront land in cash, or a commercial property owner in Kingston or Panama City carrying older high-rate debt, may have exactly the profile institutional lenders are seeking — but no clear path to reaching them.

Permanent financing for hospitality assets starts at $1 million with leverage up to 75 percent and amortizations up to 30 years, according to Commercial Real Estate Loans — with options spanning CMBS, life company loans, bank loans, and small balance instruments depending on the property profile and borrower’s financial position.

That gap between qualified Caribbean and Latin American borrowers and available institutional capital is precisely what AI Capital Exchange was built to close. The Miami-based platform, powered by Invest Caribbean, uses AI-driven pre-qualification to screen hotel and commercial property owners against real institutional lender criteria — identifying refinancing opportunities in under 30 minutes and connecting qualified borrowers directly to matched lending partners.

“The borrowers who benefit most from refinancing are the ones who come to the table before they have to,” said Felicia J. Persaud, Founder and CEO of AI Capital Exchange. “When you have equity in place, clean financials, and time on your side, lenders compete for your business. When you’re in distress, you take whatever rate is offered.”

For Caribbean and Latin American hotel and resort operators, the message from the data is unambiguous: the refinancing window is open, institutional appetite for hospitality assets with strong equity positions is real, and the cost of waiting is rising every month.

The 2026 maturity wall will not wait.

To explore refinancing options for your hotel or commercial property, visit: https://www.investcaribbeannow.com/ai-capital-exchange/caribbean-loans

RELATED: Caribbean Real Estate Is A $1.87 Trillion Market – So Why Are Caribbean Developers Still Getting Rejected For Funding?

87 Percent Unmet: The Hidden Financing Crisis Strangling Business Growth Across Latin America and the Caribbean

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By News Americas Now Business Editor

News Americas, MIAMI, FL, Thurs. June 10, 2026: The numbers are staggering – and largely invisible to the businesses living inside them. It’s a Financing Crisis. The International Finance Corporation estimates that 87 percent of small and medium enterprise financing needs in Latin America and the Caribbean go unmet, according to a September 2025 report by the ICR Facility on access to finance in the Caribbean. In absolute terms, the Inter-American Development Bank has estimated the financing gap for small and medium enterprises in the region at between $210 billion and $250 billion.

Globally, the picture is no less alarming. According to the IFC and the SME Finance Forum, there is currently a $5.7 trillion financing gap for micro, small, and medium enterprises worldwide – concentrated primarily in emerging markets and developing economies.

“MSMEs make up over 90 percent of all firms and account, on average, for 60 to 70 percent of total employment and 50 percent of GDP worldwide,” the IFC noted in a 2024 statement. “Still, there is currently a roughly $5.7 trillion financing gap for MSMEs.”

For the Caribbean specifically, the data reveals a region in crisis. Jamaica carries the largest absolute financing gap among Caribbean pilot countries at $2.717 billion – second highest relative to GDP, according to the September 2025 ICR Facility report. Belize records the highest financing gap as a percentage of GDP at 26 percent.

The LAC region has also seen a contraction in the supply of formal finance of approximately 4 percent per year over the most recent four-year measurement period, according to the SME Finance Forum’s MSME Finance Gap database – even as other emerging market regions expanded access significantly.

The barriers are well documented. According to research published by the Inter-American Development Bank, more than half of all small and medium enterprises in the Latin America and Caribbean region do not have access to the formal financial sector in the best of times. For women-owned businesses, the failure of the financial system is described as even greater.

“The financing gap is significant with respect to regional GDP,” the IDB concluded. “At the micro-level, the system does not serve MSMEs well.”

The structural causes are familiar – documentation requirements that do not fit the realities of emerging market borrowers, a lack of standardized deal packaging, and lenders who lack the local knowledge to assess risk accurately.

Technology platforms are beginning to address this gap. AI Capital Exchange, a platform powered by Invest Caribbean, uses AI-driven pre-qualification to connect companies including in Latin American and the Caribbean, to institutional debt capital – screening borrowers against real lender criteria in under 30 minutes and matching qualified applicants to the right lending partner.

“The problem was never a shortage of capital,” said Felicia J. Persaud, Founder and CEO. “It was a discovery failure. Qualified borrowers were invisible to lenders. We built the Whale Filter to make them visible – and to protect lenders from the 98 percent of deal flow that isn’t ready.”

The IFC committed a record $71.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries in fiscal year 2025 – underscoring both the scale of institutional appetite for emerging market lending and the urgency of building better pipelines between qualified borrowers and available capital.

For small and medium enterprises across the Caribbean and Latin America, that pipeline has never been more urgently needed.

To check capital readiness and explore financing options, visit: www.investcaribbeannow.com/capital-readiness-check

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