Embrace new technologies
Donville Inniss, Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce & Small Business Development believes, “the international business sector continues and will continue to be a viable contributor to the sustainable growth of the Barbadian economy. This however will require us to be proactive in the embrace of new technologies which have the potential to generate high value activity with high export capacity”.
He told the audience at the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) FinTech Seminar: Barbados Blockchain Beach, held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre that we must continue to work together in developing seminars such as these designed to increase awareness and stimulate interest.
Inniss affirmed, “Barbados is well positioned in the provision of international business and financial services to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by financial technologies. Already we have significant global players in the FinTech industry right here in our midst. I have no doubt that financial technologies have the potential to reshape certain areas of the financial services sector and can be employed to improve many Government services and leveraged to find solutions to many of the challenges faced by the sector, and by extension the country...”
“Our marketing and promotional efforts can be bolstered by better data collection and analytics. Our products and services can be reengineered to make them more user-friendly and competitive. It will certainly generate more business, create new industries, providing greater job opportunities especially for the millennials, the first generation to have grown up completely immersed in the world of digital technology.”
He warned , “Many Fintech companies fly below the regulatory radar as Governments struggle to remain abreast of new technologies. I would wish to urge financial technology companies to collaborate with the regulators in developing an appropriate regulatory framework, and to begin to put measures in place in your businesses in anticipation of the standards which will follow. Only those players who are prepared will survive in the long term. In complex and exciting world of cloud computing, big data, predictive analytics, risk based development, data breaches, cyber hacks and many other issues, this little island must not sit like a proverbial rock in the sea – oblivious of the world around it. Rather we must from comfort zone, work assiduously to change the world and make serious money along the way.” (NB)