A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 13 February to Sunday 19 February 2023.
Monday, 13 February 2023
ArawakX development plan for Haiti endorsed by UNGA
Bahamas – Crowdfunding platform ArawakX sees properly structured capital markets as an answer to Haiti’s commerce crisis. Its executive team has prepared a plan that has now reached the United Nations (UN), explained a statement released yesterday by the platform’s co-founder D’Arcy Rahming Sr… more
FTX creditors ‘fortunate’ Bahamas acted on hack
Bahamas – FTX’s US chief has admitted to the Delaware Bankruptcy Court that clients and creditors were “fortunate” The Bahamas acted to safeguard assets from theft by hackers in a total reversal of his previous attacks… more
bmobile Business continues to strengthen data security in the Caribbean Communications provider introduces VMware’s carbon black solution to bolster business’ security posture
Caribbean – Every eleven seconds, a company falls victim to a ransomware attack globally. Even worse, 59% of these attacks result in double extortion. The result is a thriving industry for the sale of harvested data which has grown from US$8bn in 2018 to US$20bn in 2021… more
ChatGPT: cheating engine or useful resource?
Caribbean – Just over two months since the launch of the new artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT, Jamaican educators are grappling with the question of ensuring academic integrity even as some point to the merits of the chatbot… more
Data breach forcing companies to hike service charge
Jamaica – DATA breaches emanating from cyber attacks are costing companies more and their customers are being saddled with that cost in the form of higher prices for services, according to a report put out by Schneider Electrics, a Europe-based digital automation and energy management company which also has an arm in Jamaica… more
Banking’s on the money as tech pays its way in the Caribbean
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Bank of Nevis International (BONI) – a leading provider of holistic wealth management and portfolio management services for clients around the world – has partnered with Singapore-based Tookitaki to become the first Caribbean bank to launch the tech firm’s award-winning Anti-Money Laundering Suite (AMLS)… more
Central Bank awards provisional e-money issuer registration to TSTT Communications provider set to deploy e-wallet – PAYPR
Trinidad and Tobago – The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) has awarded a provisional registration to the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) to issue e-money. This milestone marks a significant step towards providing Trinidad and Tobago with a robust and secure e-money platform via a mobile wallet that will support financial inclusion and drive economic growth… more
Engaging youth in digital transformation
Trinidad and Tobago – ON WEDNESDAY, the Portulans Institute hosted a webinar on youth and digital transformation that tapped into their recent 2022 Network Readiness Index publication… more
TSTT announces Major Additional Fibre Investment in T&T, Donates IdeaHub to Speyside High School
Trinidad and Tobago – TSTT, the leading and only locally owned telecommunications company in Trinidad and Tobago, has announced a significant investment of over $120 million in the expansion of its fibre network infrastructure across both islands… more
Tuesday, 14 February 2023
Customs ‘almost there’ on Click2Clear restart
Bahamas – CONFUSION last night surrounded Customs’ efforts to restore its electronic import clearance system, which has been offline for the past week, even though a senior officer said: “We are almost there.”… more
Digital Village initiative set to transform rural agriculture in The Bahamas
Bahamas – One year after signing an agreement to establish a digital territorial village, The Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs (MOAMRFIA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) moved towards the implementation phase of the project recently… more
FACE TO FACE – Velenzo Miller: Creating digital innovation with the use of drones
Bahamas – GREAT dreams are made of innovation and solutions to some of humanity’s biggest challenges. Creative enterprise comes from the ability to seize those great dreams and bring them to life for your own people… more
Barbados Attorney General says cybercrime statute is coming
Barbados – Barbados’s Attorney General Dale Marshall says a cybercrime statute to replace the 2005 Computer Misuse Act is expected to go to Parliament within two months… more
Commonwealth encourages legal reform to boost trade in the Caribbean
Caribbean – This week, the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Connectivity Agenda team together with the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) hosted a Workshop on ‘Effective Legal Frameworks for Building the Digital Economy’ in Bridgetown, Barbados… more
Solving together: PwC in the Caribbean launches data science internship programme
Caribbean – Responding to the growing need for diverse skills to solve the complex challenges facing organisations today, PwC in the Caribbean has launched a data science internship programme to help university students and recent graduates develop both their technical and professional skills… more
Digicel Guyana donates to NGOs -as part of 16th anniversary celebrations
Guyana – As telecommunications company Digicel Guyana celebrates its 16th Anniversary it has made donations to three non-governmental organisations (NGOs)… more
Low bandwidth ICT hubs in indigenous communities are a waste of money
Guyana – Dear Editor, Living in the interior can be heaven with its tranquility, greenery, wide open savannas and beautiful sceneries etc. But besides these external glories there are serious underlying issues that affects us indigenous peoples… more
Teleperformance expanding operations, to launch second office
Guyana – Business process out-sourcing (BPO) company Teleperformance is gearing up to launch its second office later this month and the expansion has seen it amplifying its call for workers through multiple social media platforms… more
Orba Tech, the firm innovating for some of the largest companies in Ja
Jamaica – In today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world, companies have to more than ever be forward-thinking and innovative to stay ahead of the curb; otherwise, they risk being left behind… more
Youths embracing authenticity, less impressed by influencers
Jamaica – Youths are accepting more and more that social media influencers are regular people and are resisting the urge to mimic the lifestyle represented by some of these internet sensations… more
bmobile sponsors UNICEF U-Report Secondary Schools competition
Trinidad and Tobago – The best way to understand youth’s challenges in the 21st century is to ask them. But UNICEF has gone one step further. An even better way is to empower youth to share their own stories through the technology already in their hands and this is exactly what the fund is doing through U-Report… more
Mastercard partners with Tribe
Trinidad and Tobago – Connecting passion and people is the mantra behind Mastercard’s partnership with Carnival pioneer, Tribe… more
Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Former Cable & Wireless shareholders to get day in court
Barbados – Former minority shareholders of Cable & Wireless (Barbados) Limited (CWBL) will finally have their class-action suit against the company heard by the local High Court next month… more
Digicel participating in global digital consultations
Caribbean – JAMAICAN telecoms giant Digicel is participating in the United Nations (UN) Global Digital Compact Consultations that opens in Mexico City, Mexico, on Wednesday… more
Hackathon unites tech and creative sectors
Jamaica – It took only three days for creatives and tech enthusiasts to come together and develop innovative solutions to some of Jamaica’s biggest challenges… more
Thursday, 16 February 2023
Bahamas ‘big part of the FTX puzzle’
Bahamas – FTX’s Bahamian operation was yesterday branded “a big piece of the puzzle that needs to get resolved” as its provisional liquidators successfully obtained US legal recognition for their ongoing investigations… more
Bahamas not on list of top cryptocurrency hubs
Bahamas – Nassau, The Bahamas does not show up on a list of the top 20 cryptocurrency hub cities. The country does not show up even when the list is expanded to the top 50 hub cities… more
Digital payments ‘not as robust’ despite 30% rise
Bahamas – The Bahamian use of digital payments is “not as robust as we’d like to see” yet, one provider asserted yesterday, even though the volume of transactions it processed increased by 30 percent in 2022… more
Caribbean’s central bank digital currency experiments slow to take off
Caribbean – Last year, Jamaica followed the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union in accepting a digital currency as legal tender… more
CTU, Secretariat host three-day workshop on building digital economy
Caribbean – The Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and The Commonwealth Secretariat jointly hosted a three-day workshop on effective frameworks for building a digital economy during which Dale Marshall, Attorney General of Barbados, emphasised the importance of legislation in driving digital economies, such as data protection, cybersecurity, intellectual property, Fintech and other areas… more
End the digital divide now. Where are the youth?
Jamaica – IT IS estimated that 1.4 billion students worldwide were affected by school closures during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 1.8 million-plus hours of learning were lost during the same period… more
Draper Tech Fest empowers local innovators
Trinidad and Tobago – Innovators in TT’s emerging information and communications technology (ICT) industry attended Tech Fest at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya hosted by Draper Start-Up House Caricom on Tuesday… more
Endcash: the Digital Wallet
Trinidad and Tobago – Endcash, a product of Republic Bank here in TT, is a digital wallet that aims to change how we send, spend, receive and manage our money… more
Friday, 17 February 2023
Bahamas liquidators set to access ‘elusive’ FTX data
Bahamas – FTX’s Bahamian liquidators believe they will soon gain access to critical records that have “so far eluded them” while avoiding the risk of costly and time-consuming legal battles in Delaware… more
Cable’s $10.69m profits swing amid refinancing drive on Aliv
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas yesterday unveiled a positive $10.69m bottom line turnaround for the first half of its 2023 financial year despite encountering frustration over the pace of Aliv’s debt refinancing… more
Digital provider calls for Bahamas CSME sign-on
Bahamas – A digital payments provider yesterday argued that the Bahamas should join the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) to break down barriers facing local firms seeking to expand into the region… more
JPLs exploring resuscitation of FTX trading
Bahamas – Peter Greaves, one of the court appointed joint provisional liquidators overseeing cryptocurrency exchange FTX Digital Markets, said yesterday the JPLs are exploring the “possible resuscitation” of the FTX trading platform… more
Kanoo expanding to four CARICOM nations
Bahamas – As Kanoo Bahamas gets set to expand to four other nations in the region, co-founder and Chairman Nicholas Rees said the hosting of the 44th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is the perfect opportunity to advance deeper discussions on how Bahamian businesses can benefit from regional expansion… more
GTT lights up East Coast communities during Fibre Roll Out
Guyana – GTT’s Home Solutions and Fixed Networks, last weekend donated 30 street lights to be strategically placed throughout the Dazzle Housing Scheme and Bareroot community… more
Working Towards Trading The Digital Way
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA), also known as Caribbean Export, in collaboration with Invest SVG launched the ‘Virtual E-Commerce Accelerator Programme’ (VEAP) at a briefing held at Ministry of Finance Conference room, Kingstown, on Wednesday 15th February 2023… more
Saturday, 18 February 2023
Digi services down near Burrell Boom
Belize – On February 17, 2023, Digi issued an advisory informing customers between the Burrell Boom junction on the Philip Goldson Highway and Orange Walk Town that they may be experiencing issues with their DigiNet and DigiTel services… more
Sunday, 19 February 2023
PaperLess Solutions Limited eyes larger market push
Jamaica – ENTREPRENEURS Oneil and Gennette Clacken are currently on the lookout for venture capitalists who will help them to scale their business in a market which is worth billions of dollars and crosses national borders… more
Images credit: Adeolu Eletu (Unsplash); Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikimedia Commons; Wikipedia; Kanoo (Facebook)
