Ahead of Barbados’ 60th anniversary of independence, a senior government official is pushing to unlock the massive economic potential of the local beauty industry, framing it as an underutilized engine for inclusive entrepreneurship, job creation, and broad-based national growth. Marsha Caddle, who serves as both Member of Parliament for St Michael South Central and Minister of Economic Affairs and Planning, made the case for expanded beauty sector investment following the conclusion of the inaugural *Art of Her: The Beauty of South Central* contest, an event she organized at Solidarity House Saturday night.
Caddle explained that the local competition was designed first to spotlight untapped creative talent across her constituency, but also to draw national attention to a global industry that generates more than $700 billion in annual economic activity worldwide. She argued that the beauty sector holds particular promise for expanding economic opportunity for Barbadians, especially women seeking to build their own businesses. “As we head toward our 60th anniversary of independence, I feel like it’s time for us to start exploring other drivers of growth and drivers of growth that are ripe for investment and ownership by many more people so that more people can be a part of the prosperity of Barbados,” Caddle told Barbados TODAY in an interview after the event.
Beyond direct job and business creation, Caddle highlighted the outsized social impact of supporting women-led entrepreneurship in the sector. When women control their own income, she noted, those earnings consistently flow back into improving child health, family education, and broader community well-being, creating ripple effects that extend far beyond individual businesses. “We have to continue to invest in women’s capacities. We have to make sure that women are always controlling income because income controlled by women helps to contribute to the health and education of children and families,” she said.
Caddle’s long-term vision extends far beyond a single constituency contest: she hopes initiatives like *Art of Her* will lay the groundwork for the founding and expansion of hundreds of new women-owned beauty businesses across the country. To support that growth, the Mia Mottley administration is already rolling out broader reforms to improve Barbados’ overall business climate, as part of a national strategy to identify 25 to 50 high-growth companies that can drive more inclusive economic expansion. Caddle confirmed that beauty sector businesses are eligible to be among that targeted group of high-potential enterprises.
What makes the beauty sector particularly compelling, Caddle added, is its deep interconnectedness with other fast-growing creative industries in Barbados, opening up cross-sector growth opportunities that many other sectors cannot match. The industry already has natural synergies with Barbados’ expanding carnival sector, and can provide critical specialized skills to support the country’s emerging film and entertainment sectors.
Caddle pointed to the government’s ongoing plan to launch a national Barbados film festival, part of a broader push to grow the local film industry by attracting both local content creators and international production companies to film on the island. Local beauty professionals with specialized skills in makeup artistry, hairstyling, and other creative services would be positioned to support these productions, creating an entirely new stream of employment opportunities for local workers. “This is a sector that runs deep. It has potential for tremendous linkages to carnivals all over the world, to the film industry, to all the other parts of the creative sector. So I think that it is one that is worthwhile to invest in,” she said.
While identifying high-potential growth sectors like beauty is a key priority for the government, Caddle stressed that ongoing business environment reform is equally critical to unlocking long-term economic expansion. The current administration’s top priorities for reform include cutting red tape and reducing wait times for planning approvals, expanding access to affordable financial services for small and medium enterprises, and cultivating a more competitive national business landscape.
“Both government and the private sector have some work to do on strengthening and modernising what we do, and that is going to be a big focus of mine in the next months and years going forward,” Caddle said. She added that the government’s strategy balances targeted support for emerging high-potential sectors with broad economic reform, noting that intentional investment in sectors with clear existing demand and growth capacity is a core part of the country’s path to shared prosperity. “I think that part of it is to be able to invest in sectors where there’s clearly an interest and there’s clearly capacity for growth, which is what we’re doing with the beauty industry,” she said.