During the Annual General Meeting of the Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce, re-elected President Mr. Kenneth Green, provided insight into the plans of the Chamber for the new period which includes: enhanced collection of statistical data of DAIC Membership, increased innovation among Chamber Members, greater assistance to dialogues of national importance and improved Private Sector collaboration.
In seeking to increase innovation among the Members of the Chamber, the private sector by extension and other stakeholders, DAIC focused its AGM on ‘Advancing Dominica’s Growth through an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.’ This discussion was fundamental to stakeholders’ recommitment to have greater focus and enhanced actions which will support entrepreneurs in Dominica ability to thrive.
It was discussed that there are several technologies available for the advancement of our businesses and organizations; however, how we use these technologies will determine business success or increased risk. It was further discussed that technologies are available for our use and may not be inherently bad; however, we all need to be wiser in how we use these technologies to prevent becoming victims.
The panelists shared that there is significant work to be done in continued education for our business community to understand more about technologies which will enhance the way business is conducted.
Additionally, attendees gained insight into Financial Technologies which will be released in Dominica and the Caribbean in the near future, which is geared to change how we conduct business or transact with each other. It was also discussed that in the banking system, there is a range of solutions for businesses in different stages of their growth and there is not a single financial institution that will have all the solutions.
PRO of DAIC and CEO of U.N.I.T.E. Sheldon Casimir shared that entrepreneurship is different from small business ownership. He further stated, “there are several elements that are needed to ensure that this ecosystem is successfully supporting entrepreneurship and these include intellectual property, regulation, academia, banking, investment from venture capitalist.
Attendees were encouraged to continue to seek solutions to the challenges of entrepreneurs and gaps which exist in supporting this system of doing business.
This panel was moderated by President of DAIC and Director for FreeStyle Inc. Kenneth Green. The Panel was comprised of: Stephen Lander, Country Manager of CIBC First Caribbean International Bank; Sheldon Casimir, Founder of U.N.I.T.E. and recent DAIC representative at the Regional Policy Dialogue on Innovation and Technology; Adeola Bannis, Doctoral Candidate and Tech Engineer at the National Telecommunication Regulatory Commission; and Michel Williams, the Founder of Maxwell Technologies, a local company operating in the FinTech industry.
Additionally, at the AGM, the digital version of the 2018-2019 report was released. This report highlights some of DAIC’s key advocacy areas, membership (highlights, feedback, and list), partnerships, key statistics, outreach, events, regional boards representation, amongst others. This report can be readily accessed through the Chamber’s Website and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/DominicaChamberDAIC/).
DAIC thanks all Sponsors who contributed to the success of the AGM which are: Archipelago Trading Ltd., Fine Foods Inc., Josephine Gabriel, and Co Ltd., and Springfield Trading Ltd., in addition to the constant support of the Management and Staff of the Prevo Cinemall.
