In this our May 2020 Community Chat, and with two members of the Caribbean tech community, Akua Walters of Hacker Hostel, and Kerrie-Ann Vassall-Richards, of Business Growth Rocket, we discuss: the importance of being a regional entrepreneur in the context of COVID-19; and getting online learning right.

 

This episode is also available in Apple iTunes, Google Play Music and on Stitcher!

For those who are prepared to search, a broad range of opportunities still exists – although the world is in the throes of battling a global pandemic and economies have begun to slow down. To some degree, this is the context behind this month’s Community Chat, where we tackle two areas: business/entrepreneurship and education.

Under the current circumstances, we are increasingly being called on to be more innovative – to think outside the box, as we seek better ways to not only leverage technology, but also to capitalise on opportunities that have emerged (and are emerging) due to the use of technology. However, before we get to the specific topics that were discussed this month, do meet our guest panellists.

 

Introducing the panellists and their topics

Akua Walters

Akua Walters is one of the Co-Founders of Hacker Hostel, which trains final year computer science, mathematics, physics and electrical engineering students based in the Caribbean in skills needed for them to be considered junior software engineers by standards widely accepted by top Silicon Valley firms. Akua has been in the entrepreneurial space for about seven years, and possesses experience in marketing, business development, design and process design.

As the co-Founder of small start-up, Akua is acutely aware of the challenges Caribbean entrepreneurs face. Based on his experience with his own start-ups, he is of the view that entrepreneurs based in the Caribbean ought to adopt a more regional posture – instead of the more insular and locally-focussed attitude that tends to be the norm – in order to develop and grow their business, and more importantly, to leverage the opportunities that are emerging due to COVID-19.

 

Kerrie-Ann Vassall-Richards

Kerrie-Ann Vassall-Richards has been on the Podcast twice before, and she is the Founder of the Business Growth Rocket, which provides coaching and consulting services to entrepreneurs and small businesses. Kerrie is Corporate Trainer with over 17 years’ experience in corporate training, adult education and business information technology. She is also an experienced and certified online teacher, coach and mentor, and the first Caribbean national to sit on the Advisory Council for the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN).

As an educator and a parent, Kerrie was particularly concerned about the online learning arrangements that would be established with the closure of schools, due to COVID-19. In being volunteered to assist a school in her community with its online teaching and learning arrangements, coupled with her experience as a certified online teacher, Kerrie was eager for us to discuss online learning, especially since we have become even more reliant on it over the past few months.

 

We would love to hear from you!

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:  Alexander Lesnitsky (Pixabay);  K-A Vassall-Richards;  A Walters

Music credit:  Ray Holman

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