In this our final Community Chat and final episode for 2025, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, International Consultant, and an Economist, Yacine Khelladi, and International Consultant, Carlton Samuels, the panel discusses the ICT/technology trends and developments that were evident across the Caribbean region in 2025, and what might be in store in 2026.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.

The year 2025 is almost at an end, and what a year it has been! Although no single transformative event can readily be recalled, the year was choc full of developments, such as in artificial intelligence (AI), digital identity (IDs), data protection, data sovereignty, and digital payments, to name a few.

At the same time, the resilience (or lack thereof) of the region’s telecoms and ICT infrastructure was once again brought into stark relief, thanks to devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa. However, it was also a great year for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite systems such as Starlink, which were recognised not only as an alternative to the traditional service providers but also as a potentially competitive player in providing internet service.

Hence, in our last Community Chat for the year, we are reflecting on the year in Caribbean tech that was, and what might be in store for us in 2025.

 

Introducing our guests

Carlton Samuels

Carlton Samuels is an International Consultant and heads Carlton Samuels and Associates, which specialises in areas such as technology in business strategy, ICT policy development, business process re-engineering and ICT in education. He was the Chief Information Officer and University Director of IT at The University of the West Indies (UWI). He is also an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Library and Information Studies, the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the UWI in Jamaica.

Carlton has an extensive portfolio of volunteer work in the areas of ICT for Development (ICT4D), Internet Governance and Technology in Education. He is a member of the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) of ICANN, a foundation member and the inaugural Secretary for the Latin America and Caribbean Regional At-Large Advisory Organization (LACRALO) of ICANN and an Advisory Board member for the Microsoft Partners in Learning initiative. He is a member of the Advisory Committee for the National Information Systems (ACNIS) in Jamaica, a member of ICT4D Jamaica and the Board Committee for ICT Governance for both Human Employment and Resource Training /National Service Training Agency (HEART/NSTA) and the Scientific Research Council (SRC). Carlton has also been a member of the CARICOM ICT Task Force, a regional ICT leadership position charged with developing a cohesive ICT/Digital policy framework for Caribbean governments.

Yacine Khelladi

Yacine Khelladi is an International Consultant and Economist who specialises in ICT, Social and Human Development, ICT National Policies and Strategies, Project Monitoring and Evaluation, to name just a few areas. He is also the moderator of the Caribbean ICT Stakeholders Virtual Community (CIVIC), an online platform for sharing information, ideas and projects on ICT and ICT-related developments in the Caribbean.

Yacine is also the Founder of Fundación Taigüey, a non-governmental organisation that engages in grassroots community development, empowerment through the strategic use of ICTs, and knowledge networking. He has been based in the Dominican Republic for over 20 years.

 

 

Insights into our conversation

Similar to previous years, the structure of the discussion is kept simple and is guided by the following questions:

  • What were the year’s big ICT/tech issues in the Caribbean region?
  • Were there issues that gained more traction than they had anticipated, and were there ones that fell short of their expectations?
  • What ICT/tech issues will be big in the Caribbean region in 2026?
  • What issues should policymakers focus on addressing in 2026?

Without a doubt, there was considerable activity in the Caribbean tech space: from AI and digital identity to cybersecurity and digital public infrastructure. However, there was consensus that even with all of those developments and activities, their impact—to appreciably improve our societies, or make our countries more competitive, or otherwise improve our economies, for example—was limited at best.

Another specific area of focus was the potential to accelerate or leapfrog our progress and development if greater regional collaboration occurred. Moreover, it was sobering to learn that many of the regional initiatives that are currently on the table had been mooted over two decades ago. Yet, we are still nowhere closer to realising them.

However, there is always hope that 2026 will be a better year.

 

We would love to hear your thoughts!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

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 were mentioned during the episode, or might otherwise be useful:

 

 

Images credit:  C Samuels;  World Wide Web Foundation;  fanjianhua (Freepik);  Freepik;  rawpixel.com (Freepik)

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

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez