Summary Most Caribbean countries have failed to attract or retain international investment on any large scale in their industrial sectors. This document advances 18 reasons for this, among them - limited access to technology, lack of awareness of world market opportunities and trends, and the inability to supply products in significant volume. The causes of these problems are identified and analysed. The education system; a lack of entrepreneurial spirit, unawareness of trends and opportunities; production hurdles for micro enterprises; poor investment climate; lack of standards, patent and copyright mechanisms; lack of science and technology inculcation; unused research; lack of networking and financing and underutilisation of sustainable natural resources. The status of business support institutions in eight Caribbean countries is described and regional support programmes for technology and entrepreneurial development is assessed.