How CBI Has Helped St. Kitts And Nevis Government’s People-centric Administration

St. Kitts and Nevis’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme has been a path-breaking investment solution which has been taken up by several nations across the world today. Started four decades ago and one of the longest-running initiatives of its kind, the dual-island nation’s flagship programme has served as a key contributor to its economic rise by luring foreign investors and offering them economic citizenship in exchange.

Under the programme which has gained a reputation for its transparency and efficiency, applicants can make significant economic contributions to the country’s development schemes such as Sustainable Island State Contribution; real estate; private real estate; and public benefit projects.

The win-win initiative not only helps the host nation with economic benefits for the local communities through the creation of social and economic assets which create opportunities for learning skills and getting jobs and paves the way for sustainable development, the investors also gain from acquiring citizenship by making significant contributions.

Government's policy focus: Community development

The government of St. Kitts and Nevis led by Prime Minister Terrance Drew has reiterated its emphasis on people-centric administration time and again. The PM has underscored his country’s rise in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on the Human Development Index and several pro-people policies that Basseterre has taken, be it for the common people, civil servants or farmers.

The island-nation has zeroed in on a sustainable and resilient future, facilitated by several transformative projects backed by the CBI and other programmes. Dr Drew recently shared a vision to reshape St. Kitts and Nevis’s economic landscape through uplifting sectors such as health, education, housing, tourism, agriculture, and critical infrastructure. He said that projects that the CBI is funding would serve as pillars for long-term development and not as short-term source of revenue.

The St. Kitts and Nevis government has taken up various projects, including schools, hospitals, football facilities, desalination plants, and installation of medical equipment, besides bringing in sweeping economic reforms in a bid to serve the people. Some of them have been backed by CBI revenues.

In July 2024, Drew, who is also the minister responsible for CBI, said his government made a strategic decision to focus on key national projects. Such projects include investment in the Development Bank and contributions to the preparedness against hurricanes.

Contributing circa 60 per cent of the country’s federal revenues, the CBI programme has been a cornerstone of St. Kitts and Nevis’s economy. It has not just helped the government to give wings to its development vision but also provided a safety net to the poor.

Besides supporting the Poverty Alleviation Programme which supports poor households and families with low incomes, the CBI programme has also given relief to people who were affected during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had seriously hampered tourism, one of the island-state’s dominant sectors.

Sustainable island state: Environmental policies and green development

Like many other Caribbean island-nations, St. Kitts and Nevis has prioritized sustainability and economic responsibility and the CBI has gone a long way to help the country. Environment-conscious investors choose nations like St. Kitts and Nevis which utilize CBI funds for a sustainable development approach.

With climate change and its impact on Small Island Developing States coming into focus more, the need for channelling funds to promote environment-friendly policies and green development has been felt more. The vulnerable countries’ appeal for international partners and funding has made the CBI funding all the more relevant.

In St. Kitts and Nevis, the CBI programme provides funding for eco-friendly initiatives such as sustainable economic development, and clean energy. Interested investors are encouraged to back St Kitts and Nevis’s Sustainable Island State Contribution (SISC) to enhance the country’s social, economic and environmental missions.

Impact on economy and society 

The CBI programme, PM Drew said, provides St. Kitts and Nevis with long-term economic benefits. The infrastructure of the island-nation funded by CBI helps it in several ways. While construction of roads, bridges and public buildings, besides utility services boost the local connectivity and standard of living, they also make St. Kitts and Nevis a business-friendly nation.

These also lead to the generation of jobs and empower the local workforce with skills that in turn help propel the economy forward. Progress in domestic social and economic sectors also curbs the island’s reliance on imports, helping it reduce its bills and use the funds for its own growth. A developed St. Kitts and Nevis will only add to investors’ confidence, bringing back more funds to the country.

The CBI programme marked a turning point in the history of St. Kitts and Nevis through encouraging economic development and boosting international partnerships. St. Kitts and Nevis has over the years reformed its CBI programme, showing how much importance it attaches to this scheme.

That the programme makes a major contribution to the island-nation’s development was evident when PM Drew said in his Budget Address in 2023 that the CBI funds exceeded the budget expectations by nearly 55 per cent.

Also, in the State of the Citizenship by Investment Programme speech delivered last October, Drew revealed that the CBI generated EC$620 million for the Federal Budget in 2023, up from EC$443 million in 2019.

St. Kitts and Nevis is also trying to focus on other economic diversification programmes such as Sustainable Economic Expansion and Diversification (SEED) as it expects an economic boom in key sectors such as construction, tourism, agriculture, and others. The CBI’s consistent contribution over the decades has helped the country to reach the position today where it can think about new innovative policies.