In our March 2023 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, IT Specialist, Larissa Martin and eCaribbean Limited’s Managing Director, Rodney Browne, the panel discusses:  The state of Innovation/R&D in the Caribbean; Why is payment technology still limited in the Caribbean? And where are the female tech leaders in the Caribbean?

 

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

As a region known for its creativity, it has been questioned in many quarters why the Caribbean region is not more widely known for innovation or for being pioneers in tech space. As individual countries and a region, we are grappling with a broad range of problems, which due to our location, geographic size and small economies, but with an educated population, we may be uniquely qualified to solve – which may be applicable to other developing countries around the world. Instead, we seem to be waiting for others to innovate to solve our problems.

Coupled with that premise, is the broader issue of whether Caribbean society is truly ready to leverage the technologies that are available to them. As much as the Caribbean consumer seems to be technology-savvy, and much is made about the proliferation of smartphones, the use of Wi-Fi and mobile data, and their presence on social media, some seemingly paradoxical attitudes and behaviour also exist.

These two concepts underpin much of the discussion in this month’s Community Chat episode.

 

Introducing our guests

Larissa Martin

Larissa Martin is an IT Specialist based in Antigua and Barbuda, currently exploring the fields of freelance and consulting. She has over 15 years of experience in the technology field and has worked in several sectors including academia, hospitality, and customer service. 

Larissa earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Information Systems from Nova Southeastern University, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a specialization in International Business from Florida International University. Her current interests include Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and is pursuing certifications in the fields of Data and IT Analytics. 

 

 

Rodney Browne

Rodney Browne has over 20 years of experience in the digital and web media industries. He created a number of ground-breaking applications between 1999 and 2005, including Caribbean Greetings, the first comprehensive online greeting card service for the Caribbean, Caribbean Buffet, a restaurant and events directory, and Caribbean Massive, a social media website with such features as a forum, blog, friends list, group, photo management and much more.

Currently, Rodney is the Founder and the Managing Director of eCaribbean Limited, which is based in Saint Kitts and Nevis, and is one of the largest web firms in the Eastern Caribbean and was launched in 2005. He is passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, education and art, and has contributed his time and resources towards the advancement of these areas nationally and regionally.

 

The topics discussed

In this Community chat episode, the following topics were discussed:

  1. The state of Innovation/R&D in the Caribbean. The seemingly lack of innovation and research and development in the region is being more widely discussed as there appears to be a growing recognition that we ought to be solving our own problems, and perhaps more importantly, that we possess the skills with which to do so. However, why isn’t there more innovation? We discuss.
  2. Why is payment technology still limited in the Caribbean? Without a doubt and over the past three years, the adoption and use of digital payments and electronic transaction technology grew considerably across the region. However, we are still behind when compared with more developed countries in terms of the range of payment technologies that are available. Also, it seems that in recent months, people have reverted to more traditional behaviour, instead of using the digital services that are being offered.
  3. Where are the female tech leaders in the Caribbean? As a young woman in tech living in Antigua and Barbuda and throughout her tertiary studies and professional life, Larissa has been the exception: a female in tech. As much as she enjoys the field, it has been a lonely existence. She has thus had to wonder, “Why aren’t more women in tech in the region?”

 

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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!

 

Select links

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

 

 

Images credits: L Martin; R Browne; Michal Jarmoluk (Pixabay); Photo Mix (Pixabay); Christina @wocintechchat.com (Unsplash)

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

Podcast editing support:  Mayra Bonilla Lopez