ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC—Grenada on Wednesday rebranded its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Unit, with Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell saying he hopes it will result in more Grenadians supporting and defending this migration industry, which brought in revenue estimated at EC$456 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) last year.
Grenada is among a handful of Caribbean countries with CBI programs that allow foreign investors to obtain citizenship in return for making a significant investment in the island’s socio-economic development.
“Migration is a natural part of humankind’s existence, and as small islands, it is really upon us to benefit as much as we can from the migration of persons, whether temporarily or permanently,” Mitchell told the ceremony at which the Unit was renamed the Investment Migration Agency of Grenada.
“We see the migration investment industry as any other financial services industry that mankind has available to maximize the benefits of being a global citizen,” said Mitchell.
He said he believes the rebranding should change Grenadian concepts of the migration industry.
“If we do not get our population to owe, support, and defend this industry, it will be quite easy for those who wish to see its demise to do so because if we don’t have local support for the migration industry and the benefits that this country has obtained as a result of having this program, then it becomes much more difficult to defend,” he said.
The European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States have recently expressed concerns about the program. They believe it poses a national security risk to their borders.
On Tuesday, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) with a CBI program are developing mutual legislation to meet the concerns raised by those countries.
“As you know, there are countries within the OECS who have these programs, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts-Nevis …and these (European) countries have raised the concerns…and the need for all of us to take certain actions to set aside the concerns which the EU in particular would have had with these programs,” Skerrit said.
Earlier this month, the ambassadors of the EU member states (Coreper) agreed to draft a regulation that will update the mechanism allowing the EU to suspend visa-free travel for countries whose nationals are exempt from the visa obligation when traveling to the Schengen area.
Chief Executive Officer of CBI Unit, Thomas Anthony, said the rebranding would take place ten years after the start of the program because the unit needs to become more involved in the overall marketing and promotion of Grenada’s migration industry.
“The CBI Unit will become more involved in the program’s marketing and promotion by crafting and managing the Grenada CBI narrative. A marketing and promotion program is more effective when a company has a consistent, clear message and brand identity,” he said.
“The current brand mark has inherent limitations in terms of how it may be used for different merchandise,” said Anthony, noting that using the Coat of Arms “does not stand out against competing regional countries.
“That being the case, it quickly became obvious that we needed a new brand consisting of a brand mark, a logo, and a tagline,” he said.
The new entity’s tagline is “Unlocking the possibilities,” its logo will be a derivative of the nutmeg and mace—the symbol on the flag and currently one of Grenada’s main exports.
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