In this Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Liselle Yorke and Ian Mitchell, the panel discusses:  what will it take to go digital in the Caribbean; and the limited access to ICT tenders and projects by regional independent consultants, contractors, and service providers.

 

This episode is also available in Apple iTunes and on Stitcher!

It is Community Chat time, once again, and based on the topics submitted for discussion by our guests, who will be introduced shortly, we are challenged to critically examine the state of ICT development in the Caribbean region in specific areas. Essentially, although currently the region enjoys and experiences the results of considerable technological advancement – when compared with what obtained 20, or even 10, years ago – the development has been uneven, at best, and warrants closer scrutiny.

For the March discussion, we have two newcomers to the Community Chat family:

Liselle Yorke

 

First, Liselle Yorke, who is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, is a mission-driven communications strategist with a deep commitment to social causes that benefit underserved communities. Currently, based in the U.S., she has written about harnessing ICT for innovation in developing economies.

Liselle posed the question, ‘What will it take to go digital in the Caribbean?’. Although the question might seem confusing to some, who would be of the view that the Caribbean is already quite digital, based on her experience whilst visiting Trinidad and Tobago, and also her exposure to ICT for development initiatives in Africa and Asia, in particular, Liselle is concerned that the region is still not as ‘digital’ as it could be.

 

Ian Mitchell

 

Second, Ian Mitchell is the Managing Director for eMagine Solutions Inc., a website and mobile applications development firm, which is headquartered in Saint Lucia. He is also a senior developer, is experienced in the design, development, programming and maintenance of complex web applications, and has worked on web projects for Fortune 500 companies in a range of sectors including financial services, investment promotion, real estate, media, and insurance industries.

For firms like eMagine Solutions that provide ICT-related consulting and contracting services, Ian is concerned about the lack of ‘Access to ICT projects for regional service providers’ that so many Caribbean tech firms, including his own, experience. He is of the view that too often, ICT-related projects are being given to entities outside the region that are not necessarily more qualified than those in the region, and frequently, the former tend to do shoddy work, which arguably, further exacerbates the situation.

 

We would love to hear your thoughts!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Image credits:  alles (Pixabay); L Yorke, I Mitchell

Music credit:  Ray Holman