Our Silicon Valley in Trinidad and Tobago

What is Silicon Valley? This is the home to many startup and global tech companies in California, United States. Words like disruption and innovation are often used when talking about Silicon Valley. The name came from the large number of silicon chip innovators that were based in the region.

What is our tech startup culture like in Trinidad and Tobago? Where is the innovation? What are we missing? How does this fit with our economic diversification goals? I would say that startups and innovation are limited because we have mainly risk-adverse investors. There is limited startup funding including venture capital and angel investors. We have become complacent because of our dependence on the energy sector. Tech and tech startups would be pivotal to our diversification efforts.

In this article, Tamana Intech Park marries ecology with technology, then minister Maxie Cuffie says, “This can be our Silicon Valley – where creation and collaboration can produce new high-paying sustainable careers." I think what we need to do now is cut our losses and make it cheaper for tech startups to enter Tamana park. We are in the midst of pandemic recovery and some of that relief money should go to tech startups. We need to work on the ease of doing business locally to attract more foreign investments.

What we have going for us is talent, internet infrastructure and location. With hundreds of tech and engineering graduates every year there is no shortage of persons ready to take on the challenges of today. Virtana, a Silicon Valley startup with a location in Trinidad says, "T&T has a strong tertiary educational system which generates a highly educated but underemployed workforce in the fields of software engineering & scientific computing."

In his piece, How to build your own Silicon Valley and keep your soul, author, Tristan identifies these 6 keys that I agree with, education, media, recruitment, infrastructure, programs, and funding. I am glad to be a part of the media landscape as a tech blogger. Leave a comment. Share with me your thoughts on having our own Silicon Valley in Trinidad and Tobago.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How does the sun set?

Image
This is a chapter from my fourth book called When hunger yearns This is the final chapter of this book. I imagine myself standing on the pigeon point jetty in Tobago. I imagine myself with camera in hand waiting for the perfect sunset. The day was long and this was a fitting end to a day of adventure. All good things must come to an end. Endings make way for new beginnings. The sun sets on our part of the world but rises in another part of the world. It is the cyclical nature of life. The waves gently come to shore and the tourists take their last dip in the sea. Life is full of ups and downs and everything comes in waves. A year ago I had no idea I would write this book but here I am today writing the final chapter. Soon I start my next book called Freedom. The sunset frees us from the heat of the day and brings the cool of the night. It quiets the mind and prepares us for the resting of our soul. A year ago on this day we were celebrating Eid. This year we celebrated Eid last week. N
Read more

Surfing

This is a chapter from my fifth book called Freedom My bags are packed, my people. I am going on an outing to a quiet surfing village in another part of the world. I have packed some shorts, armhole jerseys, a pair of flip flops and my gopro camera. It has been a while since I have gone to the beach. I live on an island and I cannot swim and I do not go to the beach. They really say that people do not appreciate what they have. Where I am heading I have to take a plane or two. I am going to Nosara in Costa Rica. Nosara is a village and district on Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula. It is known for the beaches, nature, and wildlife and of course surfing. The closest airport to Nosara is Tamarindo (TNO) Airport which is about 42 kilometers away. According to legend, Nosara is named after a Chorotega princess who died fighting for love on her beach. Sayonara, I am going to Nosara! Like how I rhymed that? And through the power of the internet I have landed on a beach in Nosara. I could jus
Read more

What is the story behind the broken kite?

Image
This is a chapter from my fourth book called When hunger yearns The broken kite by Hassan Voyeau I had this idea. I would open the pen-up app and close my eyes and just draw random lines and then fill the random shapes formed with color. But what does my new art piece represent? I used Google lens and found that the closest match pointed to a gallery with a mixture of kites and vector art. Then it occured to me that it looks just like a broken kite. A kite that had gotten stuck in a tree and was pulled down but got broken and damaged in the process. It also kinda looks like a fish that got damaged too. Maybe it is a fish kite. I was reading about the history of the kite. The exact origin is unknown but it is believed that they were flown in China more than 1000 years ago. One suggestion is that a Chinese farmer tied a string to his hat to prevent it from flying off and that is how the first kite was born. In Japan they celebrate Children's Day with fish shaped kites called koinobor
Read more

Typewriter

This is a chapter from my fifth book called Freedom It is 410pm on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. I have done enough research and made enough notes that I could write my fifth chapter in this book. The idea for this chapter came when scrolling through facebook and stumbling upon a post with a typewriter. I want to get a typewriter. Seriously. I want to get a typewriter. If you have a writer in your life, a typewriter would make the perfect gift. It would also be a great story to tell. Next thing you know, your writer friend is sending typewritten letters to friends around the world. I read that some young people are buying old typewriters as a creative escape from the distractions of computers and the internet. And just like that I have found a new interest. I even joined an "Antique Typewriter Collectors" group on facebook. Guess who called Jen Mar Machines in Trinidad to find out if they still sell typewriters? It was me and sadly they do not. The world of typewriters is fa
Read more

Collector

This is a chapter from my fifth book called Freedom The quintessential collector. Have you witnessed one in your lifetime? These are collectors who embody the very essence of collecting. They are passionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated to their pursuit. I admire the commitment. I feel the passion. I am drawn to being a part of this. Why do people collect things? Certainly this is great as a hobby and gives you all the benefits of a hobby. If done correctly I suppose. Stress relief and mental well-being, learning new things, may involve physical health, then there is social connection and personal growth and accomplishment. Collecting things is a way of creating memories. For example some people who travel collect fridge magnets from the places they visit. Each magnet represents part of their personal map and a souvenir of the soul. Something to cherish and hold on to. The collector is making history and owns part of history. I figure it is linked back to our hunters and gatherers past
Read more