In our July 2022 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Ian Mitchell and Vivion Scully, the panel discusses: What do we need to be ready for e-commerce in the OECS? And in what ways has the BPO sector contributed to Jamaica’s economy?

 

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Over the past few months, the Caribbean region seems to be settling into a greater sense of normalcy, and to some degree, it has been assessing the changes that have occurred over the past two years – for better or worse. Within the context of the tech space, most of the changes have been for the better, as both the private and public sectors had to accelerate their pace of digital adoption. However, upon reflection, questions may need to be asked about the long-term impact of the changes or improvements that occurred, and the extent to which the ease of doing business has improved and the digital divide has widened.

At the same time, and over the past two years, although some sectors essentially ground to a halt, such as tourism, unexpectedly others, such as business process outsourcing (BPO), flourished. However, BPO, in being the new kid on the block in terms of economic drivers, has been polarising. There are those who love it and see it as the best thing since sliced bread, whilst others believe that it is highly exploitative and potentially will keep the region and its citizens back.

The above provides some context for this month’s Community Chat discussions.

 

Introducing our guests and their topics

Ian Mitchell

Ian Mitchell is the Managing Director for eMagine Solutions Inc., which is based in Saint Lucia, and offers a broad range of website and mobile application-related services. Ian and the eMagine Solutions team are in the process of launching a Caribbean online marketplace, Shopfront, through which individuals and businesses can showcase and sell their services and/or products.

In eMagine Solutions building websites and mobile products for clients, Ian is acutely aware of the challenges that can be experienced in trying to sell goods and services online. The process comprises several steps, which can result in not only a protracted process but also one that is not cost-effective or efficient for micro and small businesses, which predominate in the Caribbean region. Hence, although considerable strides have been made in the last few years, with more payment solutions coming to market, and the recent launch of DCash, the Eastern Caribbean Digital Currency, a number of difficulties and roadblocks still exist. Ian thus proposed that we discuss, “What do we need to be ready for e-commerce in the OECS?”, to identify key challenges and possible remedies.

 

Vivion Scully

Vivion Scully is the Head of Global Digital Services Investment Promotion at the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), the government’s investment, and export promotion agency which connects investors and entrepreneurs from around the globe to the trade and investment opportunities available in the leading sectors of the Jamaican economy. He oversees the planning and execution of strategies to attract foreign direct investment to Jamaica’s growing Global Digital Services sector.

Vivion has facilitated investments into Jamaica by some of the leading global BPO and technology companies, and so is passionate about its value to Jamaica. However, perceptions of BPO and the wider offshore outsourcing industry by the Caribbean tech community and the public at large continue to be poor, as it is still considered a sweatshop, offering low-paying jobs and exploiting its employees. It is thus into this fray that Vivion wanted to share his views and experience by discussing, “In what ways has the BPO sector contributed to Jamaica’s economy?”, as many Caribbean countries are eager to continue to develop their services sector and capitalise on the foreign direct investment and jobs that BPO readily generates.

 

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

 

 

Images credit;  I Mitchell;  JAMPRO; Prachatai (flickr); Steve Beshear (flickr)

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

Podcast editing support:  Mayra Bonilla Lopez