An in-depth look at Jamaica's technology industry
“I believe there are lots of opportunities that we can tap into. A large part of what persons are now engaging in is focused around entertainment and social media, and those things have value in and of themselves”
DESPITE MORE than half the population having access to the Internet, Jamaica is not fully leveraging this opportunity for economic and social development, according to professor of management information systems at the University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica, Dr Paul Golding.
Golding said the country might need intervention to encourage more sophisticated use.
“Up to 95 per cent of students now have access outside of school and the access that they have is primarily Wi-Fi,” he said.
“We have reached that access point where we can now leverage and convert that access into productive use,” Golding underscored.
The author of the 2017 paper, ‘The Role of ICT in Jamaica’s Economic Growth Strategy’ indicated that despite access, total factor productivity (TPF), which measures growth and efficiency facilitated by technology, contributed negatively to gross domestic product (GDP) between 2000 and 2016.
PRIMARILY FOR LEISURE
That may not seem implausible given that a 2014 study, ‘ICT Access and Use by Households and Individuals’, which he also conducted alongside his team at the College of Business and Management at UTech, reveals that Jamaicans primarily use the Internet for leisure. Data from the study show that a combined 76 per cent use the Internet for social networking and recreation; 10 per cent for educational purposes; eight per cent for purchasing goods; six per cent for e-government transactions; and four per cent for Internet banking.
“We are not leveraging technology as much, and the industries which are leveraging technology the most are the one’s which are making the biggest profits,” he said. These include major commercial banks and other financial institutions, which have made significant investment in mobile technologies and online banking to maximise efficiency and convenience for their customers. Industries such as agriculture, restaurants, real estate and the wholesale and retail sector are, however, lagging, although they contribute vastly to the country’s GDP.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
Colin McGann, assistant general manager for business development and research at the technology company MC Systems, agrees that there are vast opportunities afforded by the Internet that businesses are not capitalising on, despite the country’s robust penetration.
“I believe there are lots of opportunities that we can tap into. A large part of what persons are now engaging in is focused around entertainment and social media, and those things have value in and of themselves. However, if you consider the Internet as a platform that bridges the gap between any size service provider and a wider customer base, a platform for knowledge and education and one that can facilitate financial inclusion and medical services to the underserved, I don’t believe that we are taking enough advantage of those opportunities,” he said.
He underscores that there is a correlation between Internet penetration and economic growth that Jamaica is not yet reaping.
“There are studies that have been done by international organisations, such as the World Bank that show that there is a direct correlation between Internet access and economic growth. There is a direct impact on a country’s GDP based on how accessible the Internet is to the population,”he pointed out.
Golding maintains that there are many access points established by businesses and the government through schools and the Universal Service Fund, which are free to the public. However, businesses now need to take the next step and have people transact or communicate with them using the Internet.
“You order something, you order it electronically using the Internet. So even the coconut man or cane man, you can send him a WhatsApp, for instance, to peel cane or prepare a coconut for you and you pay him cash, or you electronically pay him and he would have someone deliver the goods to you,” he explained.