BRADES, Montserrat (October 17, 2013) – The findings of a 2012 investment survey of Montserratians across the Diaspora has been published by the Government of Montserrat.
The survey, which was conducted by the UK-based Developing Markets Associates, looked at the potential and interest of the Montserrat Diaspora to invest in the redevelopment of the island.
In total 245 survey responses were collected and there were nine focus groups held in London, Birmingham, Boston, New York, Antigua, Anguilla and with recent returnees on Montserrat.
DMA concludes that while “there is a strong appetite for supporting the redevelopment of Montserrat in a number of ways” limited access to information about the development plans was the largest barrier to their involvement.
The report concludes that “70% of Montserratians have savings in their country of residence and 23% in Montserrat. This would suggest that many could be in a position to make some kind of financial investment. There is a great deal of interest in investing, or ‘giving back’ to Montserrat amongst the Diaspora. 50% of Montserratians surveyed would be interested in making a financial investment.”
Investing in Tourism, property and SMEs received the highest level of interest from those surveyed.
Respondents had the option to complete a long or short version of the survey which was administered online. Of those that took part in the survey, 90% view themselves as Montserratian. Even though there is a large contingent of ‘Friends of Montserrat’ who frequently visited the island before the volcanic eruption, only a small number responded to the survey. Of those that answered the survey, over 50% are currently resident in the UK. Only 8% are living in the Eastern Caribbean area.
The full report can be viewed and downloaded from the Office of the Premier’s publications page on www.gov.ms.
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