Agenda

CARIF 2026 unpacks the forces reshaping Caribbean infrastructure and the strategic choices governments, investors, and operators must make in response.

Geopolitics & Global Markets: How global economic shifts, geopolitics, and capital flows are reshaping Caribbean infrastructure investment
Capital Mobilization & PPP Innovation: Mobilizing private capital, modernizing PPP structures, and moving projects toward bankability.
Climate Resilience Across Infrastructure: The region’s top priority – embedding climate resilience across energy, transport, water, digital, and social infrastructure.
Water & Wastewater Systems: Tackling NRW, building climate-resilient utilities, and scaling reclaimed water infrastructure.
Transport & Regional Connectivity: Modernizing airports and seaports to strengthen connectivity and meet decarbonization requirements.
Digital Infrastructure, Data & AI: Advancing connectivity while leveraging data and AI to improve infrastructure planning, resilience, and delivery.
Healthcare & Food Security: Modernizing healthcare infrastructure and unlocking the economic potential of regional agriculture and food systems.

Alongside the main-stage program, CARIF 2026 will feature targeted networking roundtables, hands-on workshops, and high-level networking – highlighted by the annual fountain-side reception and CARIF Awards.

Tuesday

September 15

8:00-8:45

Registration & Refreshments

8:45-8:55

Opening Remarks

Pim van der Burg

CIBC Caribbean
Chief Commercial Officer

8:55-9:00

Day One Chairperson Welcome

Kemar Polius

CIBC Caribbean
Senior Director and Head of Corporate Banking and Sustainable Finance

9:00-9:30

Keynote Interview: Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Jamaica

Co-Hosted by IFC

How is Jamaica today post-Melissa? What infrastructure challenges still remain?
How is Jamaica turning Hurricane Melissa’s destruction into an opportunity to build smarter, more resilient infrastructure?
How is the ‘National Reconstruction and Resilience Agency’ prioritizing projects and mobilizing partners?
Roads as a central pillar of redevelopment: what structures and legislation are needed to deliver?
What is the vision for expanding broadband access, affordability, and resilience?

The Most Honourable Andrew Michael Holness, ON, MP

Prime Minister of Jamaica

Michelle Ottey

IFC
Principal Investment Officer and Caribbean Hub Lead, Transaction Advisory Moderator

9:30-10:15

Securing the Next Wave of Capital For Caribbean Infrastructure

What gets financed, what doesn’t, and how to unlock capital at scale

What do DFIs, insurers, and private investors need to commit capital – and how do they define policy and regulatory priorities?
What does minimum project readiness look like today, and how can governments and sponsors go further?
What role can Caribbean corporates play in anchoring infrastructure projects?
How do scale, risk perception, and transaction costs shape capital allocation across small island markets?

Gerardo Aguilar

Sygnus Capital USA
Head of Climate, Energy and Sustainability
Adam Carter

CIBC Caribbean
Managing Director, Investment Banking

Dustin Delany

Dentons
Chair and Chief Managing Partner Moderator

10:15-10:45

Keynote Interview: Guyana’s Infrastructure Future

Michael Outar

KPMG Guyana
Chief Operating Officer & Business Development Director

10:45-11:15

Coffee & Networking

11:15-12:00

The Mechanics of Bankable Projects: How To Best Use the Tools Available

Exploring optimal approaches: PPPs, blended finance, privatization, asset recycling – and how to attract private capital at scale.

What defines a bankable Caribbean project, and where do deals most often fail?
How should concessional and commercial capital be blended to crowd in, rather than crowd out, private investors?
PPPs vs. privatization/asset recycling: when does each deliver better outcomes?
What risk allocation, guarantees, and regulatory frameworks are needed, and how do governments build a repeatable pipeline investors can trust?

Jack MacKenzie

KPMG in the Cayman Islands
Head of Deal Advisory
Naweed Nuhuman

KPMG in Caricom
Director, Deal Advisory

12:00-12:30

Can Infrastructure Match Tourism Growth?

Tourism is outpacing the infrastructure that serves it. Can airports, ports, utilities, and urban systems keep up?

Where is tourism growth most capacity-constrained, and which projects are most urgent?
What is advancing, what is stalled, and why?
How are private developers and corporates shaping infrastructure timelines and investment priorities?
How are governments and developers coordinating infrastructure alongside resort and mixed-use development?
How do sustainability and resilience stay central as tourism development accelerates?

Isabel de Caires

IDB Invest
Director of the Caribbean Region, Corporates Division

12:30-1:00

A Conversation on Future-Ready Health Infrastructure: Financing, Resilience & Delivery

Island health systems must modernize, expand access, and build resilience. How can targeted investment make it happen?

What are the top investment priorities for resilient, future-ready island health infrastructure – from physical structures to digital systems?
How can governments and partners encourage the flow of financing to deliver modernization at pace?
Where can regional coordination on procurement and regulation unlock scale and efficiency across small health systems?

Hon. Katherine Ebanks-Wilks

Cayman Islands Government
Minister of Health, Environment, and Sustainability
Dr. Edward Fitzgerald

KPMG in Bermuda
Partner and Head of Healthcare Life Sciences

1:00-2:15

Lunch

2:15-3:00

The Future of the Caribbean Water & Energy Utilities: Regulation, Investment & the Cost of Modernization

Can Caribbean utilities modernize and build resilience while staying financially viable and keeping tariffs affordable?

How are strategic investments, M&A, and grid upgrades reshaping utility models and attracting long-term capital?
How should modernization be financed to protect both utilities and consumers?
Where is clearer alignment needed between governments, regulators, and investors to unlock scalable, future-ready infrastructure? Who is getting the balance right?
How is grid defection shaping the discussion?

Delano R. Arthur

Energy and Utilities Department, Turks & Caicos Islands Government
Commissioner
Toni Cartwright-Pratt

Bahamas Power and Light Company Limited
Chief Executive Officer
Sam Kelly

Stanbrook Prudhoe
Attorney

3:00-3:50

Water & Wastewater: Reliability & Rethinking Delivery Models

New operating models, stronger contract management, and aligned tariffs are needed to improve efficiency and long-term bankability.

Where are water production, NRW reduction and network upgrade programs moving into execution, and what is driving success?
Which delivery models – public, private, hybrid – are most effective at improving reliability, efficiency and service quality?
How can tariffs, performance targets, and regulation be aligned to keep systems investable and affordable?
What contracting approaches best ensure accountability and long-term performance – and which tools most effectively unlock investment?

Henry J. Charrabe

Seven Seas Water Group
Chief Executive Officer
Terrence Gilliard

Water and Sewerage Company Incorporated (WASCO)
Head of Strategic Planning
William Squier Gonzalez

UNOPS Caribbean
Portfolio Development Advisor

3:50-4:30

Delivering Affordable and Resilient Housing in the Caribbean

What does it take to deliver resilient housing at scale?

What practical and innovative approaches to planning, land use, and delivery can be pursued?
How can governments tackle barriers to affordable housing development to find solutions that meet the needs of island populations?
What are the priorities to deliver resilient housing in the Caribbean- building codes, materials, design – and how can these be structured into regulation?
How can local developers and corporates help scale resilient housing across the region?
How best can governments and developers ensure insurability and financeability of affordable and resilient housing?

André C. Walcott

Williams Industries Inc.
Chief Executive Officer & Director

4:30-5:00

CARIF Awards Ceremony & Showcase

5:00-6:30

Fountain Side Cocktail Reception

Wednesday

September 16

7:30-9:00

Registration & Networking

8:00-9:00

Coastal Protection & Marine Infrastructure

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Where is the real opportunity in coastal protection and who is accountable for delivering it?

Positioning Caribbean Ports as Energy Hubs

Rise and Shine Roundtable

How to turn Caribbean ports into energy hubs through shore power, bunkering, and integrated infrastructure investment.

8:00-9:00

Rethinking Solid Waste Management & Toxic Waste for Islands

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Why do waste systems fail in island contexts and what models actually work?

Infrastructure & Policy for Electrification

Rise and Shine Roundtable

What is holding back electrification initiatives and how to move forward.

8:00-9:00

Project Planning & Implementation: Getting the Risk Right

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Where do projects fail and how should risk actually be allocated?

Insuring Island Infrastructure

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Tiago Favarin de Moraes

Marsh Fac RE
Client FAC Leader

9:00-9:10

Day Two Welcoming Remarks

9:10-9:40

Keynote Interview: Infratech & AI

How are AI and digital tools reshaping infrastructure planning, delivery, and operations? What does it mean for the Caribbean?

9:30-10:20

Digital Demand & System Coordination: Delivering Infrastructure in Fragmented Island Markets

As digital demand accelerates across the region, from data centers to digital services, how can island markets align energy, telecom, connectivity, and infrastructure to deliver resilience and investable systems?

What is driving digital infrastructure investment in the Caribbean?
How can fragmented island markets coordinate policy, regulation, and infrastructure planning to enable scalable, investable projects?
What conditions related to power reliability, connectivity, and pricing are required to support telecom expansion, cloud services, and data center development?
How can digital infrastructure strengthen resilience, operational performance, and investment across Caribbean infrastructure systems?
What role can data centers realistically play in small island markets, and what is needed to make them viable?
What developments are in the pipeline to support a digitally resilient Caribbean?

Julio Bran

Trans Americas Fiber
CEO
Marcelo Cataldo

Digicel
Group Chief Executive Officer
Teresa Wankin

CANTO Caribbean
Secretary General

10:20-11:15

Gateway Development Part I: Airports and Airlift

How can the region finance, modernize, and future-proof airports to unlock growth?

How are airports being expanded to handle rising demand while managing climate, capacity, and operational risk?
What role do airlift strategy, route development, and risk-sharing play in enabling growth for smaller destinations?
Which financing solutions – PPPs, concessions, blended finance, guarantees, user fees – best suit Caribbean airports?

Dr. Rafael Echevarne

ACI-LAC Airports Council International, Latin America & Caribbean
Director General
Shane Munroe

MBJ Airports Limited
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Kenneth Romer

Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation
Director of Aviation & Deputy Director General of Tourism

11:15-11:45

Refreshments and Networking

11:45-12:30

Gateway Development Part II: The Port Opportunity – Trade, Tourism and Energy Hubs

Ports are becoming strategic hubs for energy, logistics, and regional integration. How can modernization unlock investment, reduce dependency, and strengthen Caribbean resilience?

Can modernized ports capture cruise, cargo, and logistics growth while also strengthening food and energy security, and supply chain resilience?
What role can regional trade corridors play in reducing import dependency and enabling intra-Caribbean trade?
How can energy-enabled ports with shore power, bunkering, and grid upgrades attract compliant vessels and new investment?
Which port investments offer the clearest path to bankable, scalable projects? What coordination across governments, utilities, corporates and financiers is needed to move from pipeline to execution?

Jan Fomferra

Global Ports Holding
Chief Financial Officer
Donna Marie Howe

Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited (JBM)
Managing Director
Derek Newbold

The Grand Bahama Port Authority Limited
Chief Investment Officer - Business Development Department
Darwin Telemaque

Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority | Port Management Association of the Caribbean
CEO | Chairman

12:30-1:15

Connecting Islands from Within: Delivering Resilient Domestic Connectivity

How can islands finance, deliver, and maintain roads and transport networks that withstand climate risk and remain fiscally viable?

Which delivery models are proving workable for Caribbean road and transport projects?
How should risk be allocated between governments and private partners?
What institutional capacity do governments need to procure, manage, and oversee contracts – and how can lifecycle planning ensure long-term fiscal sustainability?
What role can electrification, ferries, and intermodal systems play in strengthening connectivity?

Elona Cela

IFC
Senior Investment Officer, Transaction Advisory, Latin America and Caribbean

1:15-1:30

Conclusions and Next Steps

1:30-3:00

Agenda

Registration & Refreshments

Opening Remarks

Day One Chairperson Welcome

Keynote Interview: Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Jamaica

Co-Hosted by IFC

Securing the Next Wave of Capital For Caribbean Infrastructure

Keynote Interview: Guyana’s Infrastructure Future

Coffee & Networking

The Mechanics of Bankable Projects: How To Best Use the Tools Available

Can Infrastructure Match Tourism Growth?

A Conversation on Future-Ready Health Infrastructure: Financing, Resilience & Delivery

Lunch

The Future of the Caribbean Water & Energy Utilities: Regulation, Investment & the Cost of Modernization

Water & Wastewater: Reliability & Rethinking Delivery Models

Delivering Affordable and Resilient Housing in the Caribbean

CARIF Awards Ceremony & Showcase

Fountain Side Cocktail Reception

Registration & Networking

Coastal Protection & Marine Infrastructure

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Positioning Caribbean Ports as Energy Hubs

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Rethinking Solid Waste Management & Toxic Waste for Islands

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Infrastructure & Policy for Electrification

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Project Planning & Implementation: Getting the Risk Right

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Insuring Island Infrastructure

Rise and Shine Roundtable

Day Two Welcoming Remarks

Keynote Interview: Infratech & AI

Digital Demand & System Coordination: Delivering Infrastructure in Fragmented Island Markets

Gateway Development Part I: Airports and Airlift

Refreshments and Networking

Gateway Development Part II: The Port Opportunity – Trade, Tourism and Energy Hubs

Connecting Islands from Within: Delivering Resilient Domestic Connectivity

Conclusions and Next Steps

Networking Lunch & Close of CARIF