Looking Local, Going Global

September remember. That is a reminder not about hurricanes but about a campaign to raise awareness about stuff Dominican.

"Buy Local, Go Global: Building our Products and Services for Global Success" is the theme of the campaign.

The "Buy Dominica" campaign is the brain child of the Dominica Manufacturers Association (DMA) and the Dominica Coalition of Services Industries (DCSI), along with the Dominica Export Import Agency (DEXIA) and the Ministry of Commerce.

The campaign was launched at DEXIA conference room on June 29.

"The main aim of this campaign is to bring attention to the local products and services of Dominica. We are promoting the purchase of local products and services, yet emphasizing the need to increase capacity for international sales growth," said the Executive Director of DSCI Lester Riviere.

Severin McKenzie, the President of the DMA said the Buy Dominica campaign is an opportunity to get the public at home and abroad to appreciate the efforts that Dominicans are making to produce goods and services.

"What we are asking for is to build up the awareness of the Dominica to be appreciating what we have been doing in trying to manufacture under strenuous conditions," said McKenzie.

He said when persons visit shops they are viewing the potential of the manufacturing sector.

Esther Thomas, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Enterprise and Small Business Development said: "We have recognized that to get our people in Dominica to understand that the issue to local products are superior to others. That superiority can only get to all of us (if all of us) get together, all of us get involved and all of us be part of the profit."

Thomas noted that most importantly Dominica is in a global market, global village and hence there is need to get prepared to launch regionally and internationally.

"There are standards we have to comply with, there are players we have to compete with and of course the international market itself is a fast market that has its own added requirements," said Thomas.