Nadeen Matthews Blair talks digital transformation
DIGITAL is the way of the future, and one way to get Jamaicans to connect with this reality is to empower them through education in order to further the island’s digital transformation. NCB Foundation CEO Nadeen Matthews Blair sat with Career & Education to discuss this issue, as well as the range of digital programmes that the foundation provides support for, and the opportunities available for Jamaica’s young people.
C&E: Do you see any difficulty with Jamaicans adopting the idea that digital is the way of the future?
NMB: Jamaica has no shortage of raw talent and ingenuity. We punch above our weight wherever we set our sights, and for this reason, I don’t see any difficulty with Jamaicans adopting digital as the way of the future.
C&E: Do you see the digital approach as an ‘adapt or die’ situation?
NMB: For corporations, I see digital transformation as an adapt or die situation. At the end of the day, companies have to adapt to their customers’ changing needs, goals and behaviour. Customers have gone digital and if you’re not prepared to meet them where they have gone, then it is only a matter of time before your business begins to go through stasis, irrelevance, and then painful decline as Jeff Bezos shared in his 2016 Letter to Shareholders. We have seen it happen. Blockbuster and Kodak are two of the most visible examples of companies that failed to adapt and upon further analysis, we know that these companies would have developed the competing technologies to disrupt themselves, but failed to proactively do so. We must all resist saying things like “that will never happen”. Leading experts expressed scepticism about inventions like the television, the computer, mobile phones and even airplanes and these have become a part of our everyday lives. Space is a new frontier for tourism and Uber is in Jamaica. Jack Welch is quoted as saying, “If the rate of change on the outside is greater than the rate of change on the inside, then the end is near.” Change is constant and so business adaptation must also be constant.
C&E: Why would you say it’s important to empower Jamaicans through education in order to further the island’s digital transformation?
NMB: The NCB Foundation is focused on empowering Jamaicans through digital education because we have bought into the vision of Jamaica becoming more than consumers of technology. We must also become producers of digital solutions such as software, digital content, data-based products, etc. Consuming means we are always spending, often on imported solutions. Producing means we begin earning, and the beauty about digital solutions is that they can be sold seamlessly all over the world. I’m personally inspired by Estonia, a country of 1.3 million people that transformed itself leveraging technology, and today boasts global tech companies such as Skype and Transferwise. Population size or GDP are not limiting factors for becoming a global digital powerhouse and the NCB Foundation intends to play a major role in making this Jamaica’s reality.
C&E: How have you made the adjustment to digital in your personal space?
NMB: The biggest adjustment I have made is accepting and embracing that things are changing and will continue to change a lot faster in this season of my life than a couple of decades ago. The pace of change because of digital is rapid, so I am constantly in learning mode. I read a lot, I watch Youtube and I ask a lot of questions.
C&E: What are some of the things you do that digital has made easier, that you would want to see more Jamaicans embrace?
NMB: Educating my children: I use Youtube to find videos with interesting and engaging ways to explain difficult concepts that my children are learning in school. I also use Pinterest to find study sheets for practice.
Memories and reminders: I am definitely the ‘I have an app for that’ person. I have a birthday/anniversary reminder app. I had lots of pregnancy journal apps which have helped me remember a lot given the post-baby memory loss.
Reading: I LOVE Audible. It was hard to get used to listening to books versus reading books at first but with two young ones, my only alone time was often in my car and it became a thing.
Shopping!: Amazon Prime makes shopping easier, but now they have this massive content platform, which makes the subscription even more worthwhile.
Taking notes: My Notes app is available on my phone and ipad so I take notes any and everywhere and they’re all in the cloud so that makes accessibility when I change devices a non-issue.
Connecting regularly with my parents and sisters: We have a Zoom workout every Saturday morning. My parents don’t work out but we chat and they watch us. Then the kids join at the end and it’s a nice way to regularly connect, though we are in different countries
Managing my money: My NCB Mobile app which allows me to check my balances, make transfers, and pay bills on the go.
C&e:what are some of the digital programmes that the foundation provides support for?
NMB: Scholarships and grants in software development/engineering, UI/UX design, robotics /biotech engineering, animation/video game development, cybersecurity, data science, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning.
Level Up Grants — Grants to unemployed or persons unable to access tertiary education for digital short courses or certificate programmes up to one year in duration, which facilitate the opportunity to enhance earning potential.
NCB ICON Lab — Digital literacy and entrepreneurship skills for vulnerable youth, coding and robotics boot camps in primary and secondary schools, and CSEC support of digital subjects.
C&E: When many people think digital they think social media, and coding. For many it doesn’t extend beyond that. But explain the range of areas that digital covers.
NMB: There are many exciting careers that sit outside of social media and coding. User experience designers work on making sure our experiences on various websites and apps are simple and enjoyable. Things like Amazon’s 1- Click are examples of UX design genius. Animators can make movies for children and adults, advertisements, and educational materials for children. Data scientists extrapolate insights from large data sets to assist with making decisions, and creating value for organisations and customers. Netflix, Amazon, and Disney are just a few examples of companies using data algorithms to make useful recommendations to you on what shows to watch or what products to buy.