Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell is hoping that the rebranding of Grenada’s Citizenship by Investment Unit (CBI) to the Investment Migration Agency of Grenada will result in more Grenadians supporting and defending this migration industry, which earned the country EC$456 million in 2023.
“Migration is a natural part of humankind’s existence and as small islands, it is really upon us to benefit as much as we can from the migration of persons, whether temporarily or permanently,” he said at the rebranding ceremony at the Royalton Hotel on 20 March. “We see the migration investment industry as any other financial services industry that is available to mankind to be able to maximise the benefit of being a global citizen,” said Mitchell who was a local CBI agent before he became Prime Minister.
He believes that the rebranding should change Grenadian concepts of the migration industry. “If we do not get our population to own and support and defend this industry, it will be quite easy for those who wish to see its demise to do so, because if we don’t have local support for the migration industry and the benefits that this country has obtained as a result of having this programme, then it becomes much more difficult to defend,” he said.
The EU, UK and the USA have expressed concerns about the programme. They believe it poses a national security risk to their borders.
Thomas Anthony, Chief Executive Officer of CBI Unit said the rebranding is taking place 10 years after the start of the programme, because the unit needs to become more involved in the overall marketing and promotion of Grenada’s migration industry.
“The CBI Unit to become more involved in the marketing and promotion of the programme by crafting and managing the Grenada CBI narrative. A marketing and promotion programme is more effective when a company has a consistent clear message and brand identity,” he said. “The current brand mark has inherent limitations in terms of how it may be used for different merchandise.”
Anthony pointed out that the use of the Coat of Arms “does not stand out against competing regional countries. That being the case, it quickly became obvious that we needed a new brand consisting of a brand mark, a logo and a tagline,” he said, and announced the rebranded name “Investment Migration Agency of Grenada.”
The tagline is “Unlocking the possibilities” while the logo will be a derivative of the nutmeg and mace — the symbol on the national flag and currently one of Grenada’s main exports.
