A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 20 September to Sunday 26 September 2021.
Monday, 20 September 2021
Cash In On E-Kyash: New E-Wallet App Launch by Wallet Factory to Help the Underbanked in Belize
Belize – E-kyash, an innovative financial mobile application, has been successfully rolled out in the Belizean market… more
Flow equips Leonora Delville Primary students for back-to-school
British Virgin Islands – As face-to-face classes resume in the BVI, telecommunications giant, Flow has partnered with Nagico Insurances and RoadTown Wholesale to donate back-to-school supplies to students at the Leonora Delville Primary School… more
Digital taxes are key to the Caribbean digital recovery
Caribbean – DIGITAL platforms have become central players in the Caribbean digital economy and have been the “main beneficiaries from the COVID-19 crisis” according to Fitch Solutions… more
Jamaica is poised to end data privacy
Jamaica – A controversial digital ID bill that would store citizens’ biometric information could be replicated across the Caribbean.. more
Tuesday, 21 September 2021
New online portal puts environmental data at residents’ fingertips
Antigua and Barbuda – Residents and other interested individuals will soon be able to access droves of environmental information about the country when a pioneering online portal goes live later this week… more
World’s third largest crypto exchange opens in The Bahamas; eyes expansion
Bahamas – The country’s first company registered with the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) as a digital asset exchange, FTX Digital Markets, officially opened its office yesterday, another milestone for a company set to do just under $1 billion in revenue this year, its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, told Guardian Business yesterday… more
NGOs receive laptops to enhance training capacity
Barbados – Two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) focused on equipping young people with the skills to chart successful livelihoods and careers have each received a donation of laptop computers from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Family Association to assist with delivering their programs… more
Digicel Group shortlisted for Operator of the Year Award
Caribbean – Digicel has been shortlisted for the World Communication Awards (WCA) in the Operator of the Year category… more
Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Flow’s “Bag ah Money” winner gets a whopping $10,000 in cash
Antigua and Barbuda – Eric Carty, a grocery shop owner from the Gray’s Farm community is the happy and lucky winner of $10,000 from Flow… more
‘Innovation, tech and better policies will fuel economic growth’
Barbados – Barbadian business needs to embrace more innovation, especially digital platforms, fix customer service, and delve more into renewable energy and agriculture in order to set the economy on a path to sustained growth, Edward Clarke, the outgoing head of the Barbados Private Sector Association has said… more
Digicel signs multimillion-dollar deal for network intelligence solutions
Caribbean – REGIONAL telecoms giant Digicel has inked a multimillion-dollar deal with America-based software service provider Sandvine, which will be bringing its leading cloud-based application and network intelligence solutions to the Jamaica-based company… more
Digital currency comes to Caribbean
Caribbean – This year, the Caribbean struggled with economic turmoil due to the ongoing pandemic, a major volcanic eruption in St. Vincent, and an earthquake in Haiti… more
What makes online advertising so different from traditional?
Caribbean – ADVERTISING online is very different from traditional advertising. It is one of the most effective ways businesses may expand their reach… more
Accepting the messy middle of transformation
Jamaica – THERE’S a phrase in the corporate world that became popular in one of Scott Belsky’s books, referring to the challenging phase of projects or organisational growth and change as the “messy middle”… more
Another BPO opens in Jamaica
Jamaica – Business process outsourcing (BPO) company Iterum Connections has become the latest such entity to officially open in Jamaica, the second in two weeks… more
Huawei Nova 9 set to launch tomorrow
Jamaica – HUAWEI is set to launch its Nova 9 Series on September 23, 2021. The announcement ends speculation and has finally confirmed the anticipated devices… more
Improving broadband services is connected to growth
Jamaica – WHAT would be the impact on the economy if broadband penetration in Jamaica was improved… more
Makings of a Digital Society – Protect and Secure
Jamaica – THIS week we will look at the final three of the nine components of a digital society that fall under the umbrella of “Secure and Protect”… more
Maurice McNaughton — DIGITAL DOCTOR
Jamaica – DIRECTOR of The Centre of Excellence for IT-Enabled Business Innovation Dr Maurice McNaughton, started his career in engineering… more
Security Lapse
Jamaica – An information technology audit of the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) has uncovered critical information security weaknesses which could put records and people’s identity at risk for theft… more
UTech receives state-of-the-art IoT robot and smart devices from Innovate10x
Jamaica – THE School of Computing and Information Technology (SCIT) in the Faculty of Engineering and Computing at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) has moved a step closer to establishing a state-of-the-art Internet of Things (IoT) lab to enhance teaching and learning… more
Thursday, 23 September 2021
ArawakX opens first international office
Bahamas – A little more than a month after launching its first investable companies, ArawakX has opened its first international office in Silicon Valley, California, with plans to soon open another in Miami and expand the brand into the Caribbean, the company said in a press statement… more
Crowdfunding Platform In Silicon Valley ‘Bridge’
Bahamas – A Bahamas-based crowdfunding platform yesterday disclosed it is opening an office in California’s Silicon Valley as “a bridge” to connect this nation with international start-ups, investors and advisers… more
Digitalisation And Innovative Policymaking Key To Msme Growth In Latin America And The Caribbean
Caribbean – The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalisation within Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that holds tremendous potential for industrial transformation… more
Call us! Three-digit hotline launched to facilitate reporting of child abuse
Jamaica – THE COUNTRY’S first-ever three-digit hotline for children has been officially launched by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA)… more
Citi named best corporate/institutional digital bank in Jamaica
Jamaica – Citi has been recognised as the Best Corporate/Institutional Digital Bank in Jamaica by Global Finance magazine in the 22nd annual “World’s Best Digital Corporate/Institutional Banks in Latin America” competition… more
Homeless software developer seeks big break
Jamaica – After losing his mother at age 12 then having his father, who he saw twice per year, die years later, Dareego Gordon and his older brother were eventually evicted from a house he and his older brother called home. Now, the self-taught software developer and graphic artist is hoping for a breakthrough… more
Revenues dip to $15b for telecoms during pandemic
Jamaica – Despite the COVID-19 pandemic having driven much of Jamaica’s business and social activities online, there has been a mere 4.5 per cent increase in the availability and use of broad internet service – both fixed and mobile – in the country over one year of the pandemic from March 2020 to March this year… more
bmobile, Huawei partner for enterprise videoconferencing
Trinidad and Tobago – On Wednesday, bMobile Business announced the availability of video conferencing as a service (VCaaS) for what it said was a new level of reliable online communication… more
Data key to Trinidad and Tobago’s economic growth
Trinidad and Tobago – It took a pandemic for Trinidad and Tobago to realise the disparity in the number of children who needed to access online classes and children without access to digital devices… more
Friday, 24 September 2021
Lynk signs contracts with Aliv in Bahamas, Telecel Centrafrique
Bahamas – Lynk has announced its first commercial agreements with two mobile network operators, Aliv in the Bahamas and Telecel Centrafrique in the Central African Republic… more
Cayman to undergo cyber risk review
Cayman Islands – Both public and private sector organisations across the Cayman Islands are to be part of a cybersecurity assessment, Premier Wayne Panton has revealed… more
Mailpac launches digital grocery store
Jamaica – E-commerce and logistics company Mailpac Group has launched a dedicated website to facilitate grocery shopping… more
Search on again today for Digicel $10 million winner
Jamaica – For the second time in a week, the countdown is on again for one lucky Digicel customer who will be the winner of $10 million as the company’s summer promotion climaxes at 6 pm on Friday, September 24… more
The Evolution Of Data Collection At The Local Intelligence Office
Saint Kitts and Nevis – The Local Intelligence Office which is part of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force is the main agency responsible for data collection and over the past decades the data collection process has evolved to address policing strategies and meet the needs of partnering agencies… more
Tablets Damaged… Other Concerns
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Two challenges have been identified as students prepare for the possible return to online instructions… more
Saturday, 25 September 2021
2,300 phones destined for inmates behind bars seized in last 12 months
Jamaica – Some 2,300 cellular phones destined for criminals serving time behind bars were seized by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) over the past 12 months… more
Flow in repair mode
Jamaica – TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant Flow Jamaica says its team has already started to fix cables affected by theft and vandalism which occurred in recent weeks… more
Mailpac adds price-cutter grocery e-store in busy online market
Jamaica – Mailpac Group, which is heavily into the e-commerce solutions business, has, through its Mailpac Local subsidiary, launched an online grocery store to grow market share, with a plan to retail products some five to 15 per cent less than traditional brick-and-mortar grocery chains and standalone shops islandwide… more
Samuda says DCS to get technology upgrades
Jamaica – The procurement of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) to enhance surveillance in correctional facilities is now underway says Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security, Senator Matthew Samuda, during his State of the Nation Presentation in the Senate earlier today… more
TSTT, Huawei take virtual meetings to another level
Trinidad and Tobago – IMAGINE a Zoom meeting between two local businesses that are planning to introduce a new product to the domestic market in the post-Covid period… more
Three charged with allegedly stealing TSTT cable
Trinidad and Tobago – Three men were arrested in relation to the theft of TSTT cables following surveillance and searches in Carlsen Field, Chaguanas, and Mundo Nuevo… more
Sunday, 26 September 2021
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Image credits: Ono Kosuki (Pexels); Wikipedia; Wikimedia Commons; Wikipedia; Wikimedia Commons; Wikipedia
