Over the last three to five years, the focus on mobile app development in the Caribbean seems to have dwindled considerably. Why has this happened?

 

In recent weeks, there has been considerable discussion about tech companies that intend to float shares on the New Year Stock Exchange this year. One of the most prominent is the music streaming service, Spotify, which has been around for over 10 years, and many assumed would have been decimated by other then-emerging platforms, which truth be told, have not fare so well.

Looking more closely in our own backyard, it was noted that the excitement around mobile application (app) development is not what it used to be. At least four or five years ago, everyone (and their dog!) was running hackathons and app development competitions. There was a lot of support from organisations, such as the World Bank, with accelerator programmes being established to nurture concepts and prototypes to viable and marketable products. Now, the competitions are not as frequent, and the post-competition support seems considerably more modest, than they used to be.

So, why does the Caribbean’s mobile app development space seem less vibrant than it had been?

Building an ecosystem is hard

First, building successful apps does not happen in a vacuum. The competitions are great, and the winners may have received prizes, but truth is that the region as a whole does not have the experience or resources to take an app concept, or early prototype, all the way to the market. The ecosystem does not exist. More importantly, its development is a marathon, not a sprint – requiring considerable funds, commitment and consistency. So far, it seems as if we – both individual Caribbean countries and the region as a whole – have run out of steam.

Business model challenges

Having witnessed a fair number of app competitions and pitches, the preferred business model of most developer teams has been to offer the app for free, in the hope of rapidly growing their customer base and thereafter, being in a position to leverage that demand. Typically, revenue would be generated from the advertisements placed within the app and/or by applying a fee to unlock the more advanced features of the app (the freemium model). However, many teams have learned – the hard way – that they are unlikely to recover their costs for building and maintaining the app using those business models, which may have dampened their spirits, along with the interest of prospective investors.

Thinking too local

We have heard it before: a policymaker or expert exalting all of the local problems that could be solved with mobile apps. While such sentiments might true, relatively speaking, most Caribbean countries are incredibly small markets, having less than 500,000 inhabitants: the exceptions being Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Further, most app developers tend to gravitate to solving problems specific to their own environment. Hence, even an app might be innovative and exciting, due to the fact that it is so locally-focussed, the potential customer base tends to be still be too small for it to be viable.

Struggling to compete globally

Finally, following from the previous point, in trying to make an app that has a broader appeal, and correspondingly geared towards a much larger target market, means that the app may need to compete in the global marketplace. However, myriads of similar apps might already exist, and so the focus would be on finding ways for that app to be distinguishable from the masses. However, the expertise and resources to compete with similar apps in the Google Play and Apple Apps stores (for example) is not be readily available in the Caribbean. So while Caribbean-developed apps might be listed in those global app stores, they tend to be just one of many that do the same thing.

Final thoughts

To be clear, mobile apps continue to grow in importance globally. The mobile/cellular device is the most ubiquitous and consequently new uses and services are being developed for that platform. The seeming decline in the focus on app development in the Caribbean appears to be the result of us not having a cogent long-term plan in place to nurture and guide its evolution. Unfortunately, there might no longer be the will to try to reinvigorate it in the effort to foster innovation in the region.

 

Image credit:  Pixabay (Pexels)

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