Following the Saint Lucia Labour Party’s dominant December 1 victory, the St. Lucia Times spoke with three prominent business leaders about the government’s 2025 manifesto and the policies they hope will shape the next five years. Their insights span technology, creative industries and tourism — sectors seen as vital to the island’s economic future.
Michelle Samuel: Digital transformation and entrepreneurship
Michelle Samuel, founder of SLUDTERA Inc. and Programme Lead of BizConnect Caribbean, emphasised her nonpartisan stance but expressed keen interest in how the government will deliver on promises around digital empowerment.
SLUDTERA is a business development and social impact consulting firm based in Saint Lucia. BizConnect Caribbean is a regional entrepreneurship and digital skills programme seeking to empower small business owners, early-stage entrepreneurs and youth with the tools to grow and sustain their ventures.
Samuel said, “The manifesto outlines ambitions around expanding ICT infrastructure, supporting AI adoption, building a National Artificial Intelligence Centre, and strengthening digital education from primary to tertiary levels. For me, a stronger digital ecosystem is critical. SLUDTERA Inc. and BizConnect Caribbean rely heavily on accessible broadband, digital literacy and tech-enabled public services to reach and empower entrepreneurs, youth and rural communities.”
She highlighted the importance of continuity in policies supporting innovation, youth empowerment and small business acceleration, noting that government investment in underserved groups would complement her mission.
Keen “The Mecca” Cotter: Building the Orange Economy
Music entrepreneur Keen Cotter welcomed the government’s plan to repurpose the Cultural Development Foundation into a Development and Training Agency for the Arts.
“The CDF will need a new mandate, which focuses on world-class, industry-relevant training in both the traditional arts and modern creative trades,” he said.
Cotter was also pleased with plans to establish a functioning Orange Economy Unit focused on creative advancement.
“Any conversation about modernising, training, marketing, or exporting our cultural products is lacking without them included. This is the moment to end the cycle of isolated operations.”
Cotter stressed that scholarships for the arts must extend beyond performance to include music business and administration, cultivating professionals such as managers, publishers and A&R specialists. He praised the manifesto’s call for collaboration between agencies as a long-overdue step toward unified cultural development.
“The promised cooperation between the ministry, CDF, Export Saint Lucia, and Invest Saint Lucia is exactly the kind of combined approach we’ve needed.”
Cotter has been a music entrepreneur for over two decades, serving in multiple roles as an artist, songwriter and music rights professional.
Julian Adjodha: Levelling the playing field in tourism
Julian Adjodha, CEO of the J.A.G. Group of Companies and recent Caribbean Global Awards honoree, urged the government to extend concessions to local tourism operators, not just foreign investors.
“If a foreigner is coming in, they get a lot of concessions… but we need something similar. We need the same incentives to allow us to grow in the way that we should, to allow us to expand properly. That will help us to provide even more jobs for the public because we believe in creating employment…. That is what we look for because everybody is a family, so when you create employment, you create employment for families.”
Adjodha, the man behind Island Adventures/Sun & Fun Tours, underscored that equitable incentives would strengthen local enterprises and expand job creation in Saint Lucia’s flagship industry.
