The CARO Centre was present on 4 October 2022 for the third edition of “My first steps in importing: from ordering goods to delivering them”, an event organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the islands of Guadeloupe (CCIG), which is leading the OHADAC project.

An important new meeting for business leaders and entrepreneurs from Guadeloupe who want to import, the import workshop is designed to provide key information to entrepreneurs on legal, banking, customs, logistics, regulatory and commercial matters.

The event has a dynamic new format featuring presentations, Q&As, mini workshops in the morning then B2B meetings in the afternoon. It provides practical and precise solutions for business leaders who want to import safely.

The CARO Centre presented the legal section of the workshop, emphasising the importance of securing contracts and projects by anticipating potential conflicts.

The presentation was led by Solène Balaguette, a legal expert from the CARO Centre.

Mrs Raïssa Goubin Kern, International Advisor to the International Platform / Team France Export of Guadeloupe, acted as moderator for the panel of experts.

The speakers were as follows:

• Ms. Elcia Gabali, consultant at GLC INTERNATIONAL, spoke about the basics of importing and presented the transport and logistics aspect.
• Ms. Danielle Albina-Maquiaba, Director of the CCIIG's Economic Information and Documentation Centre (CIDE), presented the commercial aspect (sourcing, looking for partners, documentary research, etc.).
• Ms. Rachida Anais, from the BNP Paribas West Indies-Guyana Corporate Business Centre presented the banking section and promoted the offers and instruments available to entrepreneurs who want to import internationally.
• Mr. Jude Eugene, acting director of the Business Advice Unit - Economic Action Hub - Directorate General of Customs and Excise of Guadeloupe, was responsible for talking about the customs aspect.
• Ms. Solène Balaguette, legal expert working on OHADAC's CARO project, presented the legal section.

The presentation:

• provided answers to the legal problems encountered when importing internationally, as well as explaining how to secure international contracts (inserting a retention of title clause, the choice of applicable legal clause, etc.).
• presented the CARO Centre's facilitation (project mediation) and expertise services, which are key tools in preparing for an international project;
• highlighted the services offered by the CARO Centre for preventing (facilitation) and handling legal disputes (mediation and arbitration).

This event was a chance to present the CARO Centre and its range of services which are adapted to the economic challenges and realities in the Caribbean region. Business leaders and entrepreneurs were able to discover how the CARO Centre can support the development of their international projects and help them secure their projects from design through to execution.

For more information, please contact us on the following address: secretariat@carohadac.org.