Content:
This occasional paper examines the experiences of three leading global centres of the ICT industry –India, Silicon Valley, and Estonia – to reflect on how the lessons of these models can be applied to thecontext of countries in the Caribbean region.Several sectors of the technology industry are considered in relation to the suitability for theirestablishment in the Caribbean. Animation is an area that is showing encouraging signs ofdevelopment in several countries, and which offers some promise to provide a significant source ofemployment in the region. However, the global market for animation production is likely to becomeincreasingly competitive, as improved technology has reduced barriers to entry into the industry notonly in the Caribbean, but around the world. The region’s animation industry will need to moveswiftly up the value chain if it is to avoid the downsides of being caught in an increasinglycommoditized market.Mobile applications development has also been widely a heralded industry for the Caribbean.However, the market for consumer-oriented smartphone applications has matured very quickly, and isnow a very difficult sector in which to compete. Caribbean mobile developers would be better servedto focus on creating applications to suit the needs of regional industries and governments, rather thanattempting to gain notice in over-saturated consumer marketplaces such as the iTunes App Store andGoogle Play.Another sector considered for the Caribbean is “big data” analysis. This area holds significantpotential for growth in coming years, but the Caribbean, which is generally considered to be a datapoorregion, currently lacks a sufficient base of local customers to form a competitive foundation forsuch an industry. While a Caribbean big data industry could plausibly be oriented toward outsourcing,that orientation would limit positive externalities from the sector, and benefits from its establishmentwould largely accrue only to a relatively small number of direct participants in the industry. Instead,development in the big data sector should be twinned with the development of products to build aregional customer base for the industry. The region has pressing needs in areas such as disaster riskreduction, water resource management, and support for agricultural production. Development of bigdata solutions – and other technology products – to address areas such as these could help to establishniche industries that both support the needs of local populations, and provide viable opportunities forthe export of higher-value products and services to regions of the world with similar needs.
Content:
.--Executive summary.--I. Introduction.--II. India: A global leader in offshore services.--III. Silicon Valley: venture capital-backed entrepreneurship.--IV. Estonia: A small country with large technology footprint.--V. Conclusion.--Bibliography
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