Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment Senator Chad Blackman has called for a radical shift in the Caribbean’s approach to innovation, urging the region to prioritise research and development (R&D) as a means to leapfrog its economic development and compete on the global stage.
He was speaking during the FIX25 Fintech Conference on a panel discussion titled “Intelligent Money: Fintech at the Intersection of AI and Humanity”.
Senator Blackman stressed that regional governments, the private sector and academic institutions must work together to create a knowledge-driven ecosystem where data and research are central to development.
“The region must now move into a serious thrust of research and development. Not just governments, but the entire ecosystem—private sector, the academic community,” he said. “Why? That knowledge base, that data, must now be at the centre of what we do.”
Blackman noted that artificial intelligence should be seen as a tool to facilitate progress, but not the end goal.
“AI is a tool, but it isn’t the core of what we must achieve. It simply allows us to do it,” he said.
He cited countries like South Korea, China and Japan as examples of economies which have “catapulted” as a result of significant investment in research and development, noting: “They test the products to market, and then they scale.”
He added that protecting and patenting innovations can pave the way for Caribbean ideas to thrive on the global stage.
“When you can use that technology, that research—of course, protected and patented—it provides a basis for Caribbean innovation, Caribbean ideas, and Caribbean intellectual rigour to now leapfrog into global trade,” he declared.
The minister also pointed out that the region has long relied on imported intellectual property, despite having excellent ideas of its own.
“For too long, we were importers of other people’s intellectual basis and we have excellent ideas. You see what I mean?” he said.
Blackman urged regional universities and polytechnics, such as UWI, UTech Jamaica and others, to take a more active role in commercialising research.
“Young entrepreneurs must now also feed into that because there are a lot of studies that universities have done but they sit invariably on shelves. We’ve not been able to take that research and put it to market,” he said.
Further noting the region’s continued focus on sustainable development and global competitiveness, Senator Blackman highlighted the importance of integrating AI into its broader economic strategy.
“If we’re talking artificial intelligence, that data must now feed into what are some of the options that the Caribbean has to leapfrog its development,” he said. “I think that in the advent of developing a focus on sustainable development, which the Caribbean needs right now, artificial intelligence must now be a part of that ecosystem.”
The post ‘Boost R&D for economic growth’ appeared first on Barbados Today.
