A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 20 June to Sunday 26 June 2022.
Monday, 20 June 2022
BAJANS IN NY DONATE LAPTOPS TO CCB
Barbados – CHILDREN in State care will benefit from a donation of lap- tops from Barbadians living in New York City… more
One-on One Educational Services Limited – Educating Jamaica’s youth through innovation and creativity
Jamaica – Never in a million years would Ricardo Allen, founder of One-on-One Educational Services Limited, imagine that when he incorporated his company in 2013, he had created a business that would have endured the test of time during one of the world’s most devastating pandemics… more
Smart building technology planned for Ascent @ the Oxford
Jamaica – SMART building technology will be a major feature of the Ascent @ the Oxford, the structure that its developers say will be the tallest of its kind in Jamaica and which, they hope, will become a benchmark for future developments across the island… more
FLOW donates EC $70,000 to St. Kitts Music Festival
Saint Kitts and Nevis – FLOW is a Platinum Sponsor of the festival… more
Flow supports 2022 Tech4Girls Workshop
Trinidad and Tobago – Close to 300 women and girls participated in a one-day workshop, titled “Tech4Girls: Masterclass in how to Build your Online Personal Brand”, hosted by CANTO, Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT)… more
TATT’s digital inclusion survey raises questions
Trinidad and Tobago – THE RECENTLY published report on the digital inclusion survey done by Kairi Consultants for the Telecommunications Authority (TATT) raises questions about how digital adoption and access projects are being managed in Trinidad and Tobago… more
Tuesday, 21 June 2022
EVEN BIGGER: Inaugural Fintech festival planned for early 2023
Bahamas – Economic Affairs minister Michael Halkitis said yesterday that planning is well advanced towards launch of the inaugural Fintech festival in The Bahamas to be held in early 2023… more
Gov’t’s ‘Fintech festival’ aiming to attract 3,000
Bahamas – The Government is planning to stage an “international Fintech festival” that will attract 3,000 industry executives to The Bahamas early next year and further boost this country’s digital asset ambitions… more
Central Bank of Jamaica Warns About Bitcoin and Defends Its CBDC
Jamaica – Taking advantage of the crypto winter that has evaporated most of the value of cryptocurrencies, central banks and governments from almost all over the world that have CBDCs or work on the development of state digital currency projects, are warning about the risks of using and investing in private virtual money… more
Digicel sees slide in value of its bonds
Caribbean – Businessman Denis O’Brien says Digicel has seen a slide recently in the market value of $925 million of its bonds that fall due in almost eight months’ time, amid mounting concerns about the telecom group’s ability to refinance the debt… more
E-Commerce And Online Shopping Flourishing
Jamaica – The Jamaica Productivity Centre is reporting that e-commerce and online shopping are flourishing among Jamaican consumers… more
Jam-Dex by month-end
Jamaica – JAMAICA’S central bank digital currency (CBDC) Jam-Dex is expected to become available to the public by the end of this month, but the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) is signalling that the use of the currency could be limited because of the issues in preparing merchants to accept the digital payment method… more
Parents learning to accept their role as chief online guardian
Jamaica – More parents are taking action to better protect their children from online harm, as children are spending more time on their devices for learning, communication and entertainment… more
Wednesday, 22 June 2022
BTC targeting completion of fiber expansion project by 2023 end
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) says that it plans to complete its fiber expansion project by the close of 2023, having recently added another 3,000 homes to its fiber network… more
Ransomware: Could cost your business millions
Caribbean – The fraudsters who wield ransomware as a weapon have Caribbean firms in their sights. Ransomware attacks against established Caribbean-based organisations are happening, and the impact is acute… more
Legislation still needed to launch digital ID
Cayman Islands – After extensive testing of the functioning of a digital ID card, the project and a corresponding national digital identity register still need enabling legislation, according to the director of e-Government Ian Tibbetts… more
Dads in technology space
Jamaica – Name and Title: Vernon James, Chief Executive Officer, Lynk… more
DO.GET.GO — a super app to unite Jamaicans
Jamaica – ATLANTA, Georgia-based and Jamaican-born businessman Mark Hannah has embarked on creating a super app that can unite several sectors across Jamaica and provide world-class service through the app’s technology to both locals and tourists… more
Expert Says Collaboration Will Help To Advance Digital Transformation
Jamaica – Developing a digital ecosystem in collaboration with private and public stakeholders will help to advance digital transformation in Jamaica… more
The Bluedot story
Jamaica – Tlk about data analytics and polling, and if you do not quickly associate the two with Bluedot Insights then chances are you have not been following the progress of the new kid on the block in a market steeped in tradition. The genesis of this company is our focus this week in Corporate Profile… more
Imbert: e-payment for public servants coming
Trinidad and Tobago – FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert said Government will soon move to pay public servants by electronic means rather than by cheques… more
Thursday, 23 June 2022
Cyber security on Government’s radar
Barbados – Government is taking the issue of cyber security seriously and will continue to do what is necessary to protect its information technology systems from cyber breaches as the digitisation process continues… more
How does social media affect teenagers?
Belize – Тhеrе іѕ аn оngоіng оnlіnе dіѕсuѕѕіоn аnd реrhарѕ еvеn рrоmоtіоn оf trеndѕ аnd rеvеаlіng рhоtоѕ bу fаmоuѕ асtrеѕѕеѕ, іnfluеnсеrѕ, аnd ѕіngеrѕ. Іn Веlіzе, mаnу tееnѕ оn vаrіоuѕ ѕосіаl mеdіа рlаtfоrmѕ роѕt rеvеаlіng рhоtоѕ аnd vіdеоѕ оn thеіr раgеѕ… more
Rymer pledges support to improve telecoms in BVI
British Virgin Islands – Minister for Communications Kye Rymer has pledged his support to the continued improvement and development of the telecommunications sector in the Virgin Islands… more
Deeper support for digital transformation
Caribbean – Two leading agencies driving digital transformation in the Caribbean have announced accelerated joint efforts to enhance the development and growth of the region’s digital economy… more
IDB study finds ICT capability, financing gaps for women in regional gender study
Caribbean – An Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest and IDB Lab study reveals that 62% of representatives of major institutions and entities in the digital ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean think the digital gender gap is a problem in their respective countries. The same proportion believe that women have little participation in digital transformation processes because of a lack of skills and competencies… more
Republic of Korea to fund ICT development at CARICOM Secretariat
Caribbean – The Guyana-based Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat says it is undergoing an extensive upgrade of its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) capacity that is expected to lead to visible and measurable improvements in its service delivery to member states and regional institutions… more
RevUp Caribbean emphasising female enterprise
Caribbean – Officials of the Caribbean’s first virtual incubator is boasting of a very high female-owned business participation in its first cohort, while promising continued focus on this group… more
Two Cayman crypto funds to close after Terra stablecoin collapse
Cayman Islands – Two Cayman crypto funds operated by Invictus Capital have been caught out by last month’s implosion of stablecoin TerraUSD, while two others are facing a freeze on withdrawals imposed by crypto lender Celsius Network… more
Jamaica Accelerates Buildout Of National Broadband Initiative – PM
Jamaica – Jamaica has accelerated the buildout of its national broadband initiative to facilitate the rollout of high-speed Internet access across the island… more
ILO survey: More $$ needed in ICT, device distribution in schools
Trinidad and Tobago – The International Labour Organization (ILO) has noticed some alarming statistics relating to distance learning in many of the schools in Trinidad and Tobago… more
Friday, 24 June 2022
Bahamian digital asset move drives job creation
Bahamas – The Bahamas’ entry into the digital assets space has created at least 30 jobs, and pumped over $5m into the economy, by attracting new broker/dealers and cryptocurrency exchanges to this nation, a financial provider says… more
DPM ‘not concerned’ on Fintech regulatory threat
Bahamas – The Deputy Prime Minister says The Bahamas is “not concerned” about the potential threat of increased international regulatory pressures and scrutiny due to the growth of its digital assets industry… more
Caribshopper to add new source markets for products
Jamaica – Caribshopper, a Florida-based e-commerce outfit founded by two Jamaican brothers, is expanding its footprint to Canada and later to the United Kingdom, where a push into that market is targeted for next January… more
Health process outsourcing set to expand
Jamaica – THE global health-care business process outsourcing (BPO) market sis projected to reach US$316.9 billion by 2030, up from US$178 billion in 2021, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6 per cent over the period 2022-2030, market researchers including marketwatch.com state… more
TSTT fibre break affects Tobago, Toco
Trinidad and Tobago – The Telecommunications Services of Trinidad & Tobago (TSTT) has advised customers of a fibre break which, it said, was causing intermittent interruptions to mobile data, landline, Internet, TV and Internet via MiFi devices… more
Saturday, 25 June 2022
– Nil –
Sunday, 26 June 2022
CXC holds Data Intelligence Gateway (CDIG) consultations in Jamaica
Jamaica – A Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) team comprised of Dr Wayne Wesley, Registrar and CEO; Dr Eduardo Ali, Pro-Registrar and Deputy CEO; and Andre Blair, Systems Database Analyst, recently engaged Government stakeholders in Jamaica on a newly developed component of CXC’s digital transformation framework… more
SIM-jacked!
Jamaica – A fraudulent ‘SIM-swap’ scheme, which allows cybercriminals to “hijack” cellular phones and gain access to sensitive personal information, has been used to swipe nearly $100 million from more than two dozen bank accounts over the last 18 months… more
Three more banks preparing wallets for Jam-Dex
Jamaica – Weeks after the Senate officially passed legislation to enable the full roll-out of Jamaica’s digital currency Jam-Dex as legal tender, another three banks have stated their intention to move swiftly on the launch of digital wallets to facilitate… more
Images credit: Journalismthatmatters (flickr); Facebook; Bank of Jamaica; Wikipedia; Caribbean Jobs; Wikipedia; CXC
