A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 17 October to Sunday 23 October 2022.
Monday, 17 October 2021
BTC donates 400 tablets to Ministry of Education schools
Bahamas – Hundreds of students in New Providence and Family Island schools have received Samsung Galaxy tablets donated by BTC… more
Report: How has public-private collaboration boosted digital and cash transformation in the Bahamas?
Bahamas – Public-private collaboration aimed at boosting digital payments and reducing cash usage in the Bahamas has made gains in a relatively short timeframe. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, policymakers have invested in technological infrastructure on the supply side while incentivising digital payments on the demand side through a mixture of debit and credit cards, and cashless point-of-sale and person-to-person direct transfers… more
No one is an island: How Caribbean states are working together to tackle cybercrime
Caribbean – A central axiom of the cybersecurity sector is that digital threats are borderless, and entirely unconstrained by the boundaries that demarcate the physical world… more
BOJ partners with Gov’t to increase CBDC adoption
Jamaica – AS part of its thrust towards achieving financial inclusion through digitisation, the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has plans to work with the Government of Jamaica to promote the use of it central bank digital currency, JamDex, as a means of payment… more
Fintechs sign MOU to create settlement network
Jamaica – Regional payment platform WiPay Caribbean is one step closer to creating cross-border payment settlement network… more
Flow supports WIN BVI with internet connectivity for vulnerable families
British Virgin Islands – Five families of the Women In Need (WIN) BVI network will receive internet connectivity to support hybrid classroom activities, compliments of Flow, through the Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation (CWCF)… more
Tuesday, 18 October 2021
Winners of the G20 Central Bank Digital Currency TechSprint 2022 – IDEMIA and Bitt
Barbados – Bitt and IDEMIA are pleased to have won the 2022 G20 TechSprint global CBDC competition. The announcement came ahead of the G20 Bali Summit from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and Bank Indonesia as they concluded their third annual contest, which received more than 100 submissions from many of the world’s leading financial, technology, science, and marketing companies… more
Scotiabank introduces Scotia eCom+ digital payments system
Caribbean – “We’re really excited to launch Scotia eCom+™, enabling clients to start accepting credit and debit card online payments from anywhere in the world.” That comment from Cristina Abreu, Scotiabank’s Director of Global Transaction Banking for the Caribbean (South & East region), in an official statement issued today… more
CDB, IDB, World Bank Endorse Jamaica’s New Procurement System
Jamaica – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the World Bank (WB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) endorsed today the Government of Jamaica’s Electronic Procurement System (GOJEP)… more
Support for Women’s Centre IT programme improves
Jamaica – With the aim of strengthening the employability of teen mothers in today’s digitally-driven world, Sandals Foundation recently handed over a newly outfitted computer laboratory to the Women’s Centre Foundation of Jamaica’s Montego Bay branch… more
Wednesday, 19 October 2021
FTX to hire more than 100 Bahamians for crypto work
Bahamas – The Bahamas’ digital assets flagship is pledging to hire more than 100 locals as crypto currency specialists among the 700-strong full-time workforce that will staff its $60m West Bay Street headquarters… more
Why multifactor authentication is key to security
Caribbean – ACCORDING to our 1H 2022 FortiGuard Labs Threat Landscape report, malicious cyber actors are experimenting with new attack vectors and increasing the frequency of zero-day and other attacks… more
Your business is not too small to be hacked
Caribbean – Think your company is too small to be a target for hackers? Think again. Smaller businesses are impacted three times more than larger ones. Here is why… more
Digicel donates GYD $350,000 to Education Ministry’s TVET programme
Guyana – Over the years, Digicel Guyana has not only been committed to youth development but it has been a long-standing partner of the Government and other organisations for social development across communities… more
Moroccan delegation in Guyana to discuss digitising soil data
Guyana – A team of scientists from the National Agriculture Research Institute (INRA) and the Morocco International Cooperation Agency (AMCI) is currently in Guyana to present, explore and assess the impact of the Soil Fertility Map Project… more
Social media sweetens Kremi’s sales
Jamaica – An uptick in social media usage has driven a positive revenue performance for ice cream and frozen novelties manufacturer Caribbean Cream (Kremi) at the end of its six-month period ended August… more
Starlink cuts Internet rates in some markets
Jamaica – In 2020, the United States federal government awarded Elon Musk’s spaceflight company, SpaceX, with US$885.5 million to launch Starlink, a satellite company, to create a faster and more reliable Internet service option for rural households… more
UCC and StarApple join forces in AI drive
Jamaica – UCC and StarApple AI have entered into a strategic partnership, combining StarApple’s world-class data science and AI solutions with the UCC’s global academic innovations… more
Massy Stores investigates cyber attack information leak
Trinidad and Tobago – Massy Stores is currently investigating claims that an international ransomware group has dumped over 700,000 its files, revealing the personal information of staff and customers following a hack attack earlier this year… more
Thursday, 20 October 2021
Belize to Receive Assistance from United Nations’ ITU in Digitization Process
Barbados – Representing Belize at the United Nations’ recent International Telecommunication Union conference was the Minister of Public Utilities, Michel Chebat. The event dealt with all aspects of telecommunication and digitization… more
Belize working toward a ‘Digital Government’
Belize – Аt Саbіnеt’ѕ rеgulаr ѕеѕѕіоn оn Осtоbеr 18, 2022, thе Міnіѕtrу оf Рublіс Utіlіtіеѕ, Еnеrgу, Lоgіѕtісѕ, аnd Е-Gоvеrnаnсе рrоvіdеd аn uрdаtе оn thе рlаn fоr thе trаnѕfоrmаtіоn аnd mоdеrnіzаtіоn оf а dіgіtаl gоvеrnmеnt… more
Digital assets summit seeks to attract 3,000
Bahamas – THE SECURITIES Commission yesterday confirmed it has teamed with the Government to host a three-day digital assets summit at Atlantis in January that aims to attract some 3,000 industry leaders… more
Digitising Trinidad and Tobago: what’s holding us back?
Trinidad and Tobago – From 2021, in the midst of the covid19 pandemic, businesses worldwide were left with no choice but to make a massive shift and use technology to stay afloat. People did everything online, from getting food to working… more
Massy describes reporting on cybersecurity incident as “speculative and inaccurate”
Trinidad and Tobago – On April 28, 2022, Massy Stores and Massy Distribution Trinidad experienced a cyber-security incident… more
Massy businesses still reeling from April cyber attack
Trinidad and Tobago – Massy Stores and Massy Distribution Trinidad say that the data unlawfully accessed by hackers during a cyber attack in April was “more extensive than the preliminary stages of the investigation indicated”… more
Samsung: Good response to ZFlip 4, ZFold 4 in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago – “It’s the voice of the client,” Gianmarco Leri, product manager for Samsung explains. “Samsung listens to what our customers tell us”… more
Friday, 21 October 2021
Bahamas’ inaugural fintech festival to attract more than 3,000 industry leaders
Bahamas – The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) in partnership with the government of The Bahamas has announced that the country will host a global FinTech and Web3 Festival, from 24-26 January 2023… more
Mobile money uptake hit by bank obstacles
Bahamas – A CABLE Bahamas executive yesterday suggested that commercial banking practices are an obstacle to the faster uptake of mobile money, adding: “We need to get on it right now”… more
URCA chief: ‘Much to do’ on better Internet access
Bahamas – THE Bahamas’ top communications regulator yesterday admitted there is “much work to do” on ensuring affordable, widespread access to broadband Internet and mobile data… more
Caribbean entrepreneurs to access billions in capital
Caribbean – APPROXIMATELY 200 entrepreneurs across the region will have direct access to a billion-dollar global network of investors following the official launch of the Kanoo Innovation Hub in The Bahamas… more
Huawei To Boost Cooperation With GSMA Latin America To Promote Regional Digital Transformation
Caribbean – Huawei and GSMA Latin America announced during Gitex and Huawei Connect Dubai, the regional flagship telecommunications industry events that gather thousands of participants, their commitment to boost their cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean to promote digital transformation, increase the adoption of telecommunications services, and reduce the mobile usage gap… more
Invest in data
Caribbean – CARIBBEAN Community (Caricom) Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett is encouraging regional leaders to invest more in statistics… more
Midas BPO has hired around 95 Lindeners – ministry
Guyana – As it celebrates its first anniversary, Midas Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has hired around 95 Lindeners and is aiming to take on around 150 more… more
WiPay targets January for Jamaican digital IPO
Jamaica – Payment portal WiPay has set early 2023 as the new timeline to list its Jamaica operations in the form of a digital asset on the Jamaica Stock Exchange… more
Open for all: Saint Martin launches Smart-IX internet exchange
Saint Martin – The recent launch of a new internet exchange point in Saint Martin has propelled the territory towards a better, faster and more resilient Internet… more
Saturday, 22 October 2022
T&T slow to accept digital cash options
Trinidad and Tobago – Despite Minister of Finance Colm Imbert setting a target of December 2022 for this country to become a cashless society, the public has been slow to ride the wave of digital financial transactions on offer in the country… more
Sunday, 23 October 2022
Dominica’s agricultural systems to benefit from 12 week training programme in the usage of drone technology
Dominica – The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently conducted a 12-week training programme in the usage of drone technology in its ongoing efforts to transform Dominica’s agricultural systems… more
December roll-out for Digicel eSIM
Jamaica – IN another major stride towards delivering powerful digital experiences to its customers, Digicel is preparing to support eSIM-enabled (electronic SIM) devices, beginning December 2022… more
Images credit: Suzy Hazelwood (Pexels); Bank of Jamaica; Wikimedia Commons; Wikimedia Commons; Massy Group; Wikimedia Commons
