With Sébastien Celestine, of GuadeloupeTech, and Emmanuel Joseph, of LAKOUDIGITAL and MartiniqueTech, we discuss tech entrepreneurship in the French Caribbean. Some of the areas we examine are the tech entrepreneurship landscape in Guadeloupe and Martinique;  the investor landscape; and what could be done to foster greater collaboration between tech entrepreneurs in the French and the English-speaking Caribbean.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and on Stitcher!

Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely experience. In the beginning, you tend to be the only one with the vision that you are trying to bring to life. Invariably, the journey is difficult and is usually filled with blood, sweat, tears, and moments of self-doubt. Hopefully, you are able to find a community of like minds who are having similar experiences, and with whom you can commiserate and get (or give) advice.

As an English publication, ICT Pulse has been trying to do its part to foster a community across the Caribbean region. However, the region is not made up solely of English-speaking countries: there are Spanish, French, and even Dutch-speaking countries as well, but we tend not to have a clue what is going on in these countries generally, and more so in their tech space.

Today we are continuing our examination of the Caribbean tech start-up ecosystem. However, in this episode, we will be exploring the tech entrepreneurship space in the French Caribbean, with a specific focus on Martinique and Guadeloupe.

 

Introducing our guests

 Sébastien Celestine is a social entrepreneur who has been serving his territory, Guadeloupe, for the past 15 years. Together with his associates, he has created an economic group originally focused on innovation and culture, which today brings together around 50 employees across several companies, including ALL MOL TECHNOLOGY (FrenchTech120) and Librairie Générale by Caribbean Culture House. Currently, Sébastien is the President of GuadeloupeTech, an association of 200 tech companies in Guadeloupe that are working to develop innovation and entrepreneurship on the island.

Emmanuel Joseph, who is based in Martinique, is the Founder and General Manager of LAKOUDIGITAL, a digital innovation hub, which includes serviced offices and a co-working space that provides an ecosystem to entrepreneurs engaged in digital pursuits. He is also a Co-Founder and Associate Partner at Eye Consulting, a management consulting firm that also advocates digital strategy adoption and integration. Emmanuel is the President of MartiniqueTech and the President of the digital commission at FEDOM (Fédération des Entreprises des Outre-mer), a national association of French companies in France’s overseas departments.

 

 

Insight into our conversation

In this conversation with Sébastien and Emmanuel, there is a sense that the tech start-up space in Guadeloupe and Martinique is not much different from what you would find in almost any English-speaking Caribbean country. Similar to us, they have small markets and access to financing can be a challenge – though in the French territories some interesting options are available, which may not readily exist in their English-speaking counterparts.

Without a doubt, one of the biggest challenges to greater collaboration between tech entrepreneurs in the French and the English-speaking Caribbean is the language barrier. However, our commonalities far exceed our difference, and so there is considerable potential if we can find ways to bridge that gap.

Below are some of the questions that were posed to Sébastien and Emmanuel during the course of our conversation.

  1. How would you describe the tech entrepreneurship landscape?
  2. What is the biggest challenge that tech entrepreneurs are experiencing?
  3. How is the investor landscape and the posture of investors?
  4. Are there any programmes that are specifically targeted at entrepreneurs or tech start-ups?
  5. How might there be greater collaboration between tech entrepreneurs in the French- and the English-speaking Caribbean?

 

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.

Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

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

 

 

Images credit:  S Celestine;  E Joseph;  Wikimedia Commons;  Wikimedia Commons; Cytonn Photography (Pexels);  fauxels (Pexels)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez