ICT Pulse Podcast

We are continuing our series on Fintech in the Caribbean region with Kanoo Pays, a "Non-Bank Electronic Retail Payment Institution" headquartered in The Bahamas.  With Nicholas Rees, Chairman of Kanoo Pays, we discuss:   *  How Kanoo Pays has been able to distinguish itself from other digital wallets; *  The current state of the fintech industry in The Bahamas; *  Why CBDC adoption has been slow i...

We continue our Tech in Africa series with a conversation with Pinaman Owusu-Banahane, the Founder and CEO of ADJOAA, a curated multi-brand online marketplace specialising in premium and sustainable fashion and lifestyle products made by African designers and Black-owned businesses.  Pinaman shares her journey to establish a tech business in Ghana and answers questions on, among other things:   * ...

Jamaica's Data Protection Act will be coming into effect on 1 December 2023, but myths and misconceptions have persisted. With Grace Lindo, an attorney at law at Carter Lindo in Jamaica, we tackle some of the misconceptions along with exploring compliance in a variety of different scenarios. Among other things, Grace also discusses the potential implications and obligations under the new dispensat...

In our October 2023 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Dr Claire Craig, of Trinidad and Tobago and Director of Research of CaribNOG , and Jean Marie Altema of Haïti and profIT Development Consulting, the panel discusses:     *  ransomware attacks and the role of stakeholders;   *  the intersection of music and technology; and   *  the potential and challenges of crow...

Although artificial intelligence (AI) has begun to transform the workplace, it has the potential to have an even greater impact on our societies by helping us address many of the development challenges that countries, such as those in the Caribbean region, need to address. Eldon Marks, of V75 Inc. and TrueSelph Inc. in Guyana, is back with us again to share his thoughts on, among other things:    ...

Thanks to the growing prominence of Artificial intelligence (AI), .ai, the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Anguilla has experienced an exponential increase in the take-up of .ai domains. However, Caribbean countries have not been aggressive in increasing the take-up and use of their ccTLDs, though there are numerous opportunities to be had. With longstanding players in the global Interne...

As CARICOM Member States move closer to a Single Market and Economy (CSME), the role of the private sector will become increasingly important to manifest all the benefits anticipated from this massive regional transformation. With Dr Patrick Antoine, the Chief Executive Officer and Technical Director of the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), we discuss the CPSO and CSME, including:   *  H...

In our October 2023 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Christelle Vaval, a lawyer in Haiti, and Steven Williams, of Data Privacy and Management Advisory Services in Barbados, the panel discusses:     *  Digital inequality in Caribbean tech entrepreneurship;     *  Trademarks protection in domain names;   *  Are we still underprepared for cyberattacks?   The episode,...

Continuing with our recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we have another instalment in our longstanding Expert Insight series on cyber threats and security, but with a twist! Joining us are Dr Keith Nurse, of the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts Trinidad and Tobago and Kristerbella Sookdeo, of Fortinet, to chat about cybersecurity awareness. Among other things, we discuss:...

Digital Transformation. An overused term that still seems to be misunderstood. With Christopher Reckord and Trevor Forrest, the authors of the new book "Successful Digital Transformation: Your World, Your Business, Your Life… Reimagined", we discuss the key elements in a digital transformation process that must be addressed to guarantee success, along with:   *  whether Caribbean leaders are think...

Worldwide, October is commemorated as Cyber Security Awareness Month. As part of our longstanding Expert Insight series on cyber threats and security, we get a truly regional perspective on the subject. With Dale Joseph, of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), we discuss, among other things:   *  what has been going on in the wider Caribbean regi...

For our September 2023 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Esmeralda Levens of BearingPoint Caribbean in Curaçao, and Andrew Olton of Cryptcore in Trinidad and Tobago, the panel discusses:    *  Why the future of finance is global;   *  Is the Caribbean region truly a home for digital nomads? and,   *  Is our love affair with AI already over?   The episode, show notes...

Although slavery and colonialism may seem far removed from the 21 st century and our current lives, there have been growing concerns about digital colonialism. With Ingrid Riley of Silicon Caribe and Matthew Cowen of dgtlfutures, we start a conversation on digital colonialism in which, among other things, we discuss:   *  what digital colonialism is and why we ought to give it greater attention;  ...

Digital resilience is a topic that has not been comprehensively explored generally, and more so in the Caribbean region, though it is relevant and should be actively developed in organisations and at home. With Natalie Maharaj,  the Director of the ICT Services Division of the Ministry of Public Administration, Trinidad and Tobago, we discuss among other things:   *  the difference between digital...

Business intelligence (BI), like data analytics, does not seem to be as prominent these days as data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, data analytics and BI are separate disciplines from data science and AI, with the former still being especially relevant when trying to improve organisational performance and success. With Raquel Seville of BI Brainz, we get a primer on BI, and amo...

Without a doubt, technology has transformed the workplace, but it has also raised several issues that have not yet been satisfactorily resolved. Lois Walters, President of the Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica, discusses the impact of technology in the workplace, including:     *  the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic;   *  remote and hybrid work arrangements;   *  re-skilling, upskil...

In our August 2023 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Simone Pasmore, the Chief Executive Officer of Webstylze in Barbados, and Dr Lyndell St Ville, the Chief Technology Officer of Datashore in Saint Lucia, the panel discusses:     *  Technology-related bias;   *  AI for accessibility for the Differently Abled;   *  Worldcoin in the Caribbean, would it be a good or b...

With artificial intelligence (AI) capturing the minds and hearts of millions of users worldwide, chatbots have been getting little to no visibility these days. With Kern Elliott, of iGovTT in Trinidad and Tobago, we discuss chatbots and AI, and among other things:   *  which one is better;   * some of the assumptions people tend to make about AI and chatbots;   * balancing the growing emphasis on...

With the growing importance and visibility that subjects such as Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity and data protection, have been receiving, Caribbean countries and the region are being challenged to adopt clear, and ideally harmonised, positions, so they can be heard in global Internet Governance conversations. With  Nigel Cassimire of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, we discuss, amon...

With the successful enactment of the Nigeria Startup Act, Nigeria is positioning itself to be not only a hotbed of tech innovation but also the home of tech companies that have a global impact. In our conversation with Oswald Osaretin Guobadia, the Former Senior Special Assistant on Digital Transformation to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we discuss, among other things:     *  N...

Privacy and data protection have been gaining traction globally, and even across the Caribbean region. Rishi Maharaj, the Founder and Managing Director of Privicy Advisory Services, joins us to discuss privacy and data protection, along with the emerging concept of 'data ethics'. Our conversation explores, among other things:   *  the difference between data protection and data ethics;   *  the ch...

In our July 2023 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Bianca Welds, Digital Innovation Manager of the VM Group in Jamaica, and Chad Fraser, the Founder of Sonover Inc. in Grenada, the panel discusses:    *  Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models, how can the Caribbean business and education sectors extract value from these technologies; and thereafter,    * ...

  In the first episode of our new series, Tech in Africa, we discuss with the Secretaries General of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), John Omo, and of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), Rodney Taylor:   *  the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between their organisations with a view to strengthening the partnership between them;     *  how digital diplomacy works betwe...

Cyber insurance is no longer as alien as it had been just a few years ago, but the threat landscape is incredibly dynamic thus causing the cyber insurance industry to continually adjust and redefine its posture. Although we spoke with Max Pragnell, of Gallagher Insurance Brokers, just about a year ago, a lot has changed. In this conversation, he discusses, among other things:   *  key changes that...

Increasingly, there is a concern that Caribbean countries and their citizens are losing their grip on their cultural identity thanks to the overwhelming influx of digital media and content which we are now accessing from as early as toddler age. Multi-hyphenate global thought leader, Dr Kris Rampersad, discusses digital deletion and what Caribbean countries need to do for their cultural survival a...