Barbadians have been urged to capitalise on the rapidly growing Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector.
Industry Minister, Donville Inniss, made this appeal today, while speaking at the inaugural Barbados Coalition of Service Industries??? (BCSI) Genius Mobile App Corporate Workshop, at the Hilton Barbados.
Noting that the apps industry was ???not just a very large industry, but also one that knows no borders???, Mr. Inniss stressed that ???Barbados would be wrong not to do everything possible to capitalise on this industry???.
Stating that this country needed to have the right enabling environment, strong decisive leaders and a willingness to persevere and succeed, he said it was an ???opportunity to create a new set of entrepreneurs in Barbados???.
The Minister added that this country had in place most of the fundamentals needed for a successful apps industry to evolve, which included an education system with a solid foundation and specialised training at the Barbados Community College and the University of the West Indies.
He also disclosed that Barbados was ranked the 29th most wired country in the world, according to the 2013 Annual ICT Development Index.
???Figures indicate that in accessing to ICT we are ranked 26th worldwide, and number two in the Americas??? In ICT use we are number 32 worldwide and number three in the Americas; in ICT Skills, we are 29 worldwide, number three in the Americas and we have 307,708 local mobile users and 191,823 mobile internet subscribers,??? he informed an audience that included Executive Director of the BCSI, Lisa Cummins, and representatives of participating companies and ???techies???.
Meantime, President of the Barbados ICT Professional Association (BIPA), Andre Griffith, told those gathered that Barbados was now poised to grow its ITC industry.
He said his organisation was committed to advising Government, the private sector and civil society on ICT policy, regulatory business to research, and develop other strategies geared towards the achievement of efficiency at all levels of economic and social development.
theresa.blackman@barbados.gov.bb