Under the terms of the Technical Cooperation Agreement; Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund (now IDB Lab); Jamaica Venture Capital Programme (JVCapital); Development Bank of Jamaica committed to the establishment of a Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC) Association.

With leadership from an Advisory Council made up of industry leaders, the Caribbean Alternative Investment Association (CARAIA) was incorporated in July 2019 as a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the expansion of Private Equity, Venture Capital, Real Estate, Private Credit, Mezzanine Financing and other Alternative Investments in the Caribbean.

The impetus to establish the Association arose out of the need identified by fund managers, corporate and institutional investors to continue to grow and develop the markets, with some level of continued support from Government sources and International Development Finance Institutions.

The Association is currently based in Jamaica, but is seeking to, from the outset represent Caribbean stakeholders. Those eligible for membership include regional entities as well as international stakeholders with an interest in the Caribbean.

It is recognized that the Caribbean has some 44 million inhabitants among 31 countries.  Many of the countries with embryonic private equity, private credit, venture capital and other alternative investment markets, in the Caribbean, are either not supported by any regional or international body or, when represented, do not receive the sustained focus required to nurture and develop their private capital markets.