TT deep with tech innovation

He said there are a lot of challenges in building relationships between the difference parts of the industry and a lot more dialoguing and relationship building is needed within the industry to create an environment in which it can flourish. He said industry stakehlders encountered a lot of challenges when trying to develop products or get access to capital or even in recruiting suitable candidates for their firms.

No one has any pretentions of establishing a Silicon Valley in Trinidad and Tobago, “but we are trying to develop and industry that is really sustainable and viable and that supports economic diversification.” He added that while Trinidad and Tobago does not have the amount of factories in high tech information technology to take over the world, “there were countries including Costa Rica and Ireland which are quite small and quiet but are important players in the industry and that is where we see ourselves.”

Martinez went on to say that working in a culture of innovation means that those working in the industry have to think beyond the “9-5” and recognise that it is a field that requires commitment and our markets are not protected in the same way that it would be for manufactured goods which can be protected by tariffs and different trade barriers “so what it means is that we are competing with people from all over the world and we really need the drive, the commitment, the entrepreneurial spirit and really, the passion for the industry, to really build and be part of competitive and innovative companies.”

He said that many of the challenges that foreign companies looking to recruit IT experts in Trinidad and Tobago would have faced up to two years ago still remain, the aim of his study was to get an understanding of the industry as a whole which was why in the course of his survey he made contact with as many as forty information technology entities of various sizes and age in business and to identify the players in the industry.