In our August 2026 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Emmanuel Louis is the Founder and Managing Director of Novarex Technologies, who is originally from Haiti, and Jason Hynds is the Director and Chief Technology Officer of P.a.R.T.S. Inc, of Barbados, the panel discusses:  Can the Caribbean bridge the regional tech brain drain?  Is the Caribbean ready for the next digital infrastructure era? Are Caribbean governments being taken for a ride when it comes to digital transformation?

 

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

The Caribbean stands at a critical juncture in its digital evolution. As global tech shifts rapidly toward artificial intelligence, cloud-native architecture, and borderless remote work, regional policymakers and industry leaders are continually being required to reexamine long-held beliefs and positions to ensure that they still are the right fit for the situation at hand. In this month’s Community Chat podcast episode, three of the issues were discussed.

First, for decades, the region’s brightest software engineers, cybersecurity experts, data scientists, and product managers left for North America and Europe in search of competitive compensation and scale. In fact, the brain drain is nothing new, and if we think about it, for at least a century Caribbean people have emigrated to seek better opportunities. However, the rise of global remote work models offers an unprecedented opportunity to stem and reverse this exodus.

At the same time, although we can remain in our home countries, we might not necessarily be employed locally, which can result in a subtle yet powerful dynamic of being present but not available to share one’s skills and capabilities at home, which can be considered another form of brain drain. We thus kicked off our discussion with the topic, “Can the Caribbean bridge the regional tech brain drain?”

Second, as countries worldwide evolve into digital societies, we are often focused on new and emerging technologies and services, but do not necessarily consider the need for the underlying infrastructure to also evolve to meet the demand and our changing needs. For example, although 5G might be all the rage these days, it is not solely about giving us faster speeds for video streaming or instant messaging. In fact, its real value is in facilitating smart environments and the Internet of Things. In a similar vein, and relevant to the region,  fibre optic cables, particularly the submarine cables used to provide international connectivity, are a crucial lifeline that many of our countries seem to overlook, which we sought to address through the topic, “Is the Caribbean ready for the next digital infrastructure era?” 

Finally, we wrapped up our conversation by revisiting digital transformation, and more specifically the question, “Are Caribbean governments being taken for a ride when it comes to digital transformation?”  

The topic of digital transformation is by no means new, and has been the goal of businesses and organisations for at least a decade. However, across the region, multi-million-dollar public sector modernisation initiatives have often ended in disappointment. High-priced international consultants deliver shiny e-government portals that merely place a digital coat of paint over paper-heavy backends. Proprietary software licenses trap small public administrations in costly vendor lock-in, while the promised transfer of knowledge to local teams rarely materialises. In a nutshell, many of our governments have not experienced the “transformative” improvements in their processes, efficiencies and productivity initially envisaged or that they were sold would result.

 

Introducing our guests

Emmanuel Louis

Emmanuel “Manny” Louis is a technology and business executive with over a decade of experience in IT, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and business transformation. As President and Chief Executive Officer of Novarex Technologies, a Managed Service Provider, he leads the company’s strategy across managed IT services, digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and emerging technology solutions.

With a hands-on technical background, Emmanuel combines deep technology expertise with executive leadership to help organisations solve complex challenges, modernise their infrastructure, and create new opportunities for growth.

 

 

Jason Hynds

Jason Hynds is the Chief Technology Officer) of P.a.R.T.S. Inc., a managed ICT services company headquartered in Barbados. With specialities in network engineering and systems administration, he has supported residential, business, public sector, NGO, and international clients with services ranging from helpdesk support and ICT procurement to cybersecurity, systems management, and Internet hosting. His career spans roles as IT Technician, Systems Analyst, Programmer, Software Developer, Systems Administrator, Network Engineer, and IT Manager across retail, insurance, offshore, education, telecommunications, and IT sectors in Barbados.

Beyond his professional work, Jason is deeply committed to advancing ICT capacity and collaboration across the Caribbean. He was instrumental in establishing the Barbados Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC) and encouraged the successful formation of ISOC chapters in Haiti, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and Jamaica. He continues to champion education, exposure, and peer engagement to strengthen the regional ICT ecosystem.

Through his charity, the Relatable Technology Foundation (RTF), Jason supports initiatives for disabled persons, literacy, STEM, environmental, health, and agricultural causes. He also provides ongoing advisory support to community-driven enterprises. Across all his engagements, Jason is recognised for using knowledge, networks, and personality to overcome resource limitations and drive meaningful change for his community, nation, and the wide Caribbean region.

 

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 otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Image credits;  J Hynds;  E Louis;  Magnific (Magnific); rawpixel.com (Magnific); Magnific (Magnific)

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

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez