“Business can be a driving force for social, environmental and economic benefit,” said Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, which controls more than 400 companies.
The British entrepreneur cited a report co-sponsored by airline Virgin Atlantic, which he founded in 1984, published on Wednesday by global LGBTQ+ advocacy group Open For Business (OFB), “The Economic Case for LGBT+ Inclusion in the Caribbean”.
The report said discrimination in the region knocked almost 6% of annual GDP off the 12 island economies as LGBTQ+ tourists stayed away and local employees left.
Researchers estimated that violence against the LGBTQ+ community cost up to a further $1.2 billion every year. “We and our partners in the Caribbean have much to do to change the