Seeking investment when your image is rotten

Investment promotion when a destination's image is challenged, while difficult, is not impossible, but it calls for a proactive approach both by the government as well as the private sector, Virgilio Barco, executive director of Invest in Bogotá, Colombia, told an audience comprising business leaders from the private and public sector on Friday.

Barco was speaking at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica/Jamaica Money Market Brokers annual economic forum under the theme 'Beyond Crime and Corruption: Practical Lessons from Colombia', where he alluded to strategies implemented in Colombia and its capital city, Bogotá,toresult in a transformation.

"Colombia still has an image concern but investors want to see something improving, something going right. You may have a bad image, but there is a way to bridge that," said Barco.

Colombia is the world's leading producer of coca, the plant that makes cocaine, and has, over the years, been plagued by crime, terrorist activities and corruption, factors, which all led to a negative impact on investment flows to the country. But targeted intervention - such as the strengthening of the judicial system, social pro-grammes, and economic measures to include opening of the economy, regulatory reform, incentives for investment, and public-private partnerships to develop key economic sectors - all resulted in a city transformed.

Citing similarities between Jamaica and Colombia, Barco pointed to lessons that can be learned about promoting a destination with an image problem.

Jamaica has been plagued by its own problems of crime and violence that have helped to tarnish its image and reputation. And with the recent violence in western Kingston, the tourism minister is now seeking to launch a US$10 million public-relations campaign to mitigate the fallout in the sector.

So far, the minister has also reported that the industry has amassed losses of US$350 million due to the flare-up.

Among the lessons to be learnt is the importance of bridging the gap between reality and perception by grounding the investment-promoting strategy within a clear economic framework.

In Colombia, Invest in Bogotá, the public-private investment-promotion agency for Greater Bogotá, designed an investment-promotion strategy as part of a comprehensive economic agenda. The agenda took into account investment in infrastructure, workforce training, urban renewal,and the strenghtening of the local productive sector, among others.

"You don't want to just attract investment, but how that investment can contribute to the wider economic plan, for example, investment to generate employment," said Barco.

"It is not just marketing, but addressing the entire value chain," he said.

There must also be a focusing on specific sectors where there is a compelling story with clearly defined target companies and locations.

Barco identified offshore services as one of the most promising sectors within Bogotá, an area in which he sees a strong value proposition for Jamaica.

But while still a far way to go, Barco said that after three years, they were starting to see significant results.

"We are far from being Bangalore, but we are on the right track," he said.

In three years, Invest in Bogotá has attracted more than 30 investments, totalling US$300 million, in value-added sectors.