Jamaica, ranked at 76th on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2022, was the most innovative country in the region, when compared to its Caribbean island neighbours Trinidad and Tobago and Dominican Republic. However, the country fell two places below its 2021 ranking of 74th.

The Dominican Republic placed 90th, jumping from 93rd last year, and Trinidad and Tobago fell from 97th to 101st.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, the GII 2022 tracks global innovation trends against the background of an ongoing pandemic, a slowing of productivity growth, and other evolving challenges. The study was presented under the theme ‘What is the future of innovation-driven growth?’

The GII 2022 captures the innovation ecosystem performance of 132 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.

Switzerland, the United States, and Sweden led the rankings. At the same time, Burundi, Iraq, and Guinea were the least innovative countries.

According to the report, “In 2022, Jamaica ranks best in the region in terms of Creative Outputs (34th), including in indicators such as Trademarks (9th), and Industrial Designs (14th).”

Jamaica also found itself in a select group of Innovation Achievers for 2022, which included Jordan (78th), Zimbabwe (107th), Mozambique (123rd), and Burundi (130th).

In the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, Jamaica is one of only three countries to have improved its rank by more than 10 places — the others being Mexico and Peru. Meanwhile, Brazil and Argentina have experienced a more accelerated ranking increase over the past five years.

Again, Jamaica was among three countries that performed above expectation of its development level. The GII classifies the country as an upper middle-income state.

The other countries that performed above expectation in the innovation section for their level of development are Peru and Brazil, also classified as upper middle income.

“Conversely, six Latin American and Caribbean economies have declined in performance status, no longer meeting expectation but, instead, performing below expectation for their level of development, pointing to a possible innovation performance stagnation within the region,” the report outlined.

“Among Caribbean economies, only the Dominican Republic climbs the rankings to 90th position – although it continues to perform below expectation for its level of development,” it continued.

Chile, which leads LAC countries, was the only one from the region to place among top-50 performers.

The LAC region joined Africa in recording the strongest growth in venture capital.

“The biggest boom was in venture capital (VC). VC deals grew by 46 per cent in 2021, recording levels comparable to the internet boom years of the late 1990s. What is more, VC has become more inclusive, with the Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa regions witnessing the strongest VC growth, albeit from a low base. The VC outlook for 2022 is more sobre, tightening monetary policies and the knock-on effect on risk capital will lead to a deceleration in VC,” the report said.